
<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-31-a-step-by-step-guide-to-booting-hackintosh-to-striped-raid/6020897091_c01a875084_t.jpg" alt="Hackintosh Logo" class="post-thumb"/>Almost two years ago, I bought a Hackintosh: a normal Intel PC that can be converted to run Mac OS X, resulting in an $800 computer with the power of a $2400 Mac Pro. I can't remember the last time I've been so pleased with a computer purchase, especially two years later. One important decision I made was to go with a [Solid State Drive](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive) for the boot drive. The biggest bottleneck in common use of most modern personal computers is the hard drive access; processors are fast, memory is fast, but hard drives are slow. As if using an SSD wasn't fast enough, I bought two of them and used [RAID striping](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_RAID_levels#RAID_0), a technique which splits the data evenly across both drives, so when I want to load a file, half of the file is read from one disk and half is read from another _in parallel_. As you might imagine, it's pretty speedy.  The computer I bought was [the recommended setup](http://lifehacker.com/#!5351485/how-to-build-a-hackintosh-with-snow-leopard-start-to-finish) that Lifehacker guaranteed would work as a Hackintosh, with a few small variations. Back when I originally did the hacking to get Mac OS X to run on it, there was no known way to boot to a RAID array, so I had to boot to a USB flash drive, and then select my RAID disk. This was especially annoying since I've [gone all wireless](/2011/01/18/bluetooth-wireless-desktop/), because I'd have to keep a wired keyboard around to plug in for navigating the boot menu.

This past week, however, through a sequence of turning off my computer mid-boot several times, I managed to break its ability to boot to the USB flash drive, thus bricking my entire computer. In the two years since my original setup, the Hackintosh community has been hard at work improving and streamlining the boot and hacking process. This thing called [MultiBeast](http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/02/multibeast-ultimate-post-installation.html) has been invented and the [Chameleon bootloader](http://chameleon.osx86.hu/) has grown a lot too.

## The Guide

Here are the steps I used, after going down many wrong paths, to finally get my Hackintosh working with Mac OS X 10.6.7. Step 3 is specific to my [_NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512 MB_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016BL5M4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=eriksblog07-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0016BL5M4) video card.

### Step 1: Create RAID array and install Mac OS X

1. Download [iBoot](http://www.tonymacx86.com/viewforum.php?f=69/) (you have to register for the forum) and burn the disk image to a CD.
2. Boot to your iBoot CD.
3. When you get to the Chameleon menu, insert your Snow Leopard DVD and press F5, select the DVD and press Enter to boot to it.
4. Once you're in the Mac OS X installer, choose Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
5. Select one of your SSDs, and select the RAID tab. Drag both SSD disks into the RAID set, and pick a name for your RAID set (I called mine "HD"). Make sure you've got "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" selected as the Format, and "Striped RAID Set" as the RAID Type, and hit "Create".
6. Close Disk Utility and continue on with the Mac OS X setup, selecting your RAID set as the disk to install the operating system to.
7. When you finish the install, reboot – still to the CD! – and select your SSD drive from the boot menu.

### Step 2: Install MultiBeast

1. [Download](http://www.tonymacx86.com/viewforum.php?f=69/) (using the forum login you created earlier) and run MultiBeast
2. I checked the following boxes in MultiBeast:
    
    <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-31-a-step-by-step-guide-to-booting-hackintosh-to-striped-raid/5577355426_cb0839db75_o_d.png" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="MultiBeast selections">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-31-a-step-by-step-guide-to-booting-hackintosh-to-striped-raid/5577355426_22f65d4cc2.jpg" alt="MultiBeast selections"/>
</a>
3. Hit Continue, allow the boot drive default install destination, and install MultiBeast.
4. In Terminal, run this: `cp -R /Extra ~/Desktop/Extra`

### Step 3: Install the GFX String for your video card

If you're lucky, you may not need this step, but I could not get Snow Leopard to recognize my [_NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512 MB_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016BL5M4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=eriksblog07-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0016BL5M4) video card, leaving me at 1024x768 video resolution and no multi-monitor support. If you're having video card problems without doing this step, come back and try it.

Note: When I did the original [iBoot + MultiBeast method](http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/04/iboot-multibeast-install-mac-os-x-on.html), which includes immediately installing the 10.6.7 Combo Update, only some of my video card's capabilities were recognized after this step. It's important to do this step **_before_** you upgrade to the latest version of Snow Leopard.

1. Go [here](http://aquamac.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=hack1&thread=509) and download the file for your video card and unzip it on your Desktop.
2. In Terminal (vary the directory name as appropriate):
    
    `cd ~/Desktop/gfxutil\ 512\ MB\ 9800\ GTX/ ./gfxutil -f display`
3. This should print out something that looks something like this: `DevicePath = PciRoot(0x1)/Pci(0x1,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)` Copy the part to the right of the = to your clipboard.
4. Edit the in.plist file. Use "nano" instead of "vi" if you wish. `vi in.plist` At the top of the file, you should see something that looks like the PciRoot string you just copied to your clipboard. Replace what is in the file with the value from your clipboard. `<key>PciRoot(0x1)/Pci(0x1,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)</key>` Save the file.
5. Now run: `./gfxutil -i xml -o hex in.plist out.hex` This will generate a file called out.hex with the GFX string for your video card in it.
6. Copy the contents of out.hex to your clipboard like so: `cat out.hex | pbcopy`
7. Now we need to insert this GFX string into your com.apple.Boot.plist in the copy (the one on your Desktop) of your Extra directory. `vi ~/Desktop/Extra/com.apple.Boot.plist`
Go down to the bottom before the </dict> line and add the following two lines, pasting _your_ GFX string where you see my long hex value. `<key>device-properties</key> <string>d20300000100000001000000c60300001500000002010c00d041030a 0100000001010600000e0101060000007fff04003a000000400032002c006800 7700730065006e0073006f0072002d0070006100720061006d0073002d007600 65007200730069006f006e000000080000000000000222000000400032002c00 6400650076006900630065005f0074007900700065000000120000004e564441 2c6770752d64696f64650e0000004e00560050004d0000002000000001000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001e00000072006f00 6d002d007200650076006900730069006f006e00000009000000333137326110 0000004e00560043004100500000001800000004000000000003000c00000000 0000070000000022000000400032002c002300730069007a0065002d00630065 006c006c0073000000080000000000000022000000400030002c006400650076 006900630065005f00740079007000650000000b000000646973706c61791000 00006d006f00640065006c0000001f0000004e5649444941204765466f726365 2039383030204754582044444c14000000400030002c006e0061006d00650000 00120000004e5644412c446973706c61792d4120000000400032002c0063006f 006d00700061007400690062006c0065000000160000004e5644412c73656e73 6f722d706172656e7414000000400031002c006e0061006d0065000000120000 004e5644412c446973706c61792d4212000000400032002c0072006500670000 0008000000000000021c0000006400650076006900630065005f007400790070 0065000000100000004e5644412c4765466f72636520000000400031002c0063 006f006d00700061007400690062006c00650000000e0000004e5644412c4e56 4d616326000000400032002c0023006100640072006500730073002d00630065 006c006c007300000008000000000000010e0000006e0061006d00650000000f 0000004e5644412c506172656e7422000000400031002c006400650076006900 630065005f00740079007000650000000b000000646973706c61792000000040 0030002c0063006f006d00700061007400690062006c00650000000e0000004e 5644412c4e564d6163220000005600520041004d002c0074006f00740061006c 00730069007a0065000000080000000000002036000000400032002c00680077 006300740072006c002d0070006100720061006d0073002d0076006500720073 0069006f006e000000080000000000000214000000400032002c006e0061006d 00650000001100000073656e736f722d706172656e74</string>`

I have broken up the hex string here for formatting purposes, but you should make sure that you have no spaces between the <string> and </string> tags.

### Step 4: Make your RAID Set bootable

1. Open Disk Utility (under /Applications/Utilities), right-click on your RAID Set, and choose Information. You should see something like this:
    
    <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-31-a-step-by-step-guide-to-booting-hackintosh-to-striped-raid/5577384852_0a0fd12e5c_o_d.png" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="RAID Volume Info">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-31-a-step-by-step-guide-to-booting-hackintosh-to-striped-raid/5577384852_2226f138a8.jpg" alt="RAID Volume Info"/>
</a>
    
    Copy the Universal Unique Identifier to your clipboard. You'll need it in a second.
2. Open the com.apple.Boot.plist in the copy (the one on your Desktop) of your Extra directory. Use "nano" wherever I have "vi" if you don't feel comfortable with vi. `vi ~/Desktop/Extra/com.apple.Boot.plist`
3. Where you see something like this: `<key>Kernel Flags</key> <string>arch=i386</string>` Paste in your Universal Unique Identifier to make it look like this: `<key>Kernel Flags</key> <string>arch=i386 boot-uuid=6EC2F54F-287B-38E2-BB6D-A0FFECA995BD</string>`
4. Okay, now we're done preparing our Extra folder, so we need to set its permissions. `sudo chmod -R 644 ~/Desktop/Extra sudo chown -R root:wheel ~/Desktop/Extra`
5. Now we need to identify the internal device names for your two RAID drives. These change every time you boot your computer, so this step is needed every time (should you run through this guide more than once) before we continue with the following steps. `diskutil list`
    
    <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-31-a-step-by-step-guide-to-booting-hackintosh-to-striped-raid/5577819694_83e63abdfb_o_d.png" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="diskutil list">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-31-a-step-by-step-guide-to-booting-hackintosh-to-striped-raid/5577819694_d871430746.jpg" alt="diskutil list"/>
</a>
    
    Look for the two entries with an "Apple\_RAID" entry in them. The important numbers to remember are the integers immediately following "/dev/disk" in the header rows for those entries. Sometimes it will be disk0 and disk1, but other times it may be disk3 and disk5 or whatever, depending on how many hard drives you have installed. Just remember those two numbers and substitute them wherever you see me use "disk0" and "disk1" in this tutorial.
6. Download the latest version of [Chameleon](http://chameleon.osx86.hu/), which is 2.0-RC4 at the time of this writing, and unzip it to your Desktop.
7. Each RAID array drive has a secret "Boot OSX" partition on it where we need to put our Chameleon bootloader.
    
    Run the following commands, replacing the Chameleon folder name with whatever version you downloaded. You may be prompted for your password for the first sudo command. Keep in mind that wherever you see disk0 and disk1, you need to replace it with your two disk identifiers from step #5 above. `cd ~/Desktop/Chameleon-2.0-RC4-r684-bin/i386/ sudo fdisk -f boot0 -u -y /dev/rdisk0 sudo fdisk -f boot0 -u -y /dev/rdisk1 sudo dd if=boot1h of=/dev/rdisk0s3 sudo dd if=boot1h of=/dev/rdisk1s3 diskutil mount disk0s3 sudo cp boot /Volumes/Boot\ OSX/ sudo cp -R ~/Desktop/Extra /Volumes/Boot\ OSX/Extra diskutil unmount disk0s3 diskutil mount disk1s3 sudo cp boot /Volumes/Boot\ OSX/ sudo cp -R ~/Desktop/Extra /Volumes/Boot\ OSX/Extra diskutil unmount disk1s3`
8. Now we're going to activate those "Boot OS X" partitions. Some of these commands are inside fdisk. You may need to confirm with a "y". Look at the screenshot if you're unsure. Don't forget to substitute your disk identifiers. `sudo fdisk -e /dev/rdisk0 f 3 w q sudo fdisk -e /dev/rdisk1 f 3 w q`
    
    <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-31-a-step-by-step-guide-to-booting-hackintosh-to-striped-raid/5576974671_1214d39d76_o_d.png" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="fdisk -e /dev/rdisk0">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-31-a-step-by-step-guide-to-booting-hackintosh-to-striped-raid/5576974671_b64c6324be.jpg" alt="fdisk -e /dev/rdisk0"/>
</a>
9. Remove your iBoot CD.
10. Reboot, but hit DEL to enter BIOS.
11. Set your BIOS to boot to one of your RAID drives first.
12. Press F10 to save your BIOS settings and reboot. It should boot properly to Snow Leopard on your RAID drives, faster than you've ever seen Mac OS X boot.

### Step 5: Update your operating system

You can probably do this via Software Update, but I already had the [10.6.7 Combo Update](http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1361) downloaded from previous attempts, so I did that first.

That's it! You're done!

### Bibliography

I got most of my information from the following helpful guides.

- Lifehacker: [How to Build a Hackintosh with Snow Leopard, Start to Finish](http://lifehacker.com/#!5351485/how-to-build-a-hackintosh-with-snow-leopard-start-to-finish)
- Lifehacker: [How to Build a Hackintosh and Install OS X in Eight Easy Steps](http://lifehacker.com/#!5672051/how-to-build-a-hackintosh-mac-and-install-os-x-in-eight-easy-steps)
- tonymacx86: [iBoot + MultiBeast: Install Mac OS X on any Intel-based PC](http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/04/iboot-multibeast-install-mac-os-x-on.html)
- aquamac forums: [GFX Strings - How To](http://aquamac.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=hack1&thread=509)
- InsanelyMac: [Chameleon 2 RAID - More complete tutorial](http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=160467)

This process involves a lot of trial and error and reading about others' trials and errors. My main motivation for writing this post was to give others yet another guide to try when others have not worked, and to record exactly what I did that worked while it's still fresh on my mind.


A Step-By-Step Guide to Booting Hackintosh to Striped RAID


[![Grandpa's Sleeping (vidcap)](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-22-grandpas-sleeping/5551314740_e1ecec3337_t.jpg "Grandpa's Sleeping (vidcap)")](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/5551314740 "View 'Grandpa's Sleeping (vidcap)' on Flickr.com")My parents are visiting this week. That means Nora is sleeping in our room for the first time in months. The first night they were here, Nora woke up at around midnight and cried and cried, demanding water, but then taking only a sip and pushing it away, and the immediately demanding more water when it was clear that I was going back to bed instead of giving her my undivided attention. After a half hour of trying various things, her mother mentioned that she needed to be quiet because Grandma and Grandpa were sleeping in the next room. Completely unexpectedly to us, Nora nodded and repeated "They're sleeping. Don't wake them," lay down, and stopped crying. Two hours later when she started crying again, her mother said, "Be quiet. They're sleeping," and Nora obeyed, repeating the sentence to herself. It was really bizarre.  On subsequent nights, we've been able to use the same sentence to make her shut up and lie back down. From what I know of child psychology, she doesn't have the capacity for empathy needed to follow [_The Golden Rule_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Rule), so it must be some other line of reasoning.

Last night, as I was preparing her for bed, I interviewed her about her grandfather already being asleep in his bedroom.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v4h0qUx191Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Enable close captioning on the video if it doesn't come on for you by default.


Grandpa's Sleeping


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-18-tweety-pin/5537561728_dcee1cb64b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Tweety Pin">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-18-tweety-pin/5537561728_fdfd6f3a8f_t.jpg" alt="Tweety Pin"/>
</a>

For [whatever reason](/2008/10/23/roaming-flickr-gangs/), some of my online friends have decided that there's something really funny about Tweety, the _Looney Tunes_ canary. There's something about his (yes, Tweety [is a boy](http://www.flickr.com/photos/isogloss/2323288297/in/pool-1191873@N24/)) ubiquity and presumed innocence make him a prime target for smirk-inducing [suspicions of Evil](http://www.flickr.com/groups/tweety/pool/).

Almost three years ago, I sent my friend [Jane](http://hillbillyplease.tumblr.com/) a [Tweety pez dispenser](http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagosaurus/2554352343/) as a gag gift. She finally got around to returning the favor. Today in the mail, I received a Tweety pin. It wasn't in my hands long, however, because as soon as Nora saw it, she insisted on having and wearing it. She wore it to daycare today. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-18-tweety-pin/5537552528_7e13eda29f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Tweety Pin">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-18-tweety-pin/5537552528_029a0a4595_z.jpg" alt="Tweety Pin"/>
</a>

No, I don't know why her dress says "dudu".

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-18-tweety-pin/5536980615_3ec37a7215_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Tweety Pin">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-18-tweety-pin/5536980615_05894608d3_z.jpg" alt="Tweety Pin"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-18-tweety-pin/5536981483_26a9656e32_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Tweety Pin">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-18-tweety-pin/5536981483_df203139cb.jpg" alt="Tweety Pin"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-18-tweety-pin/5537561728_dcee1cb64b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Tweety Pin">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-18-tweety-pin/5537561728_fdfd6f3a8f.jpg" alt="Tweety Pin"/>
</a>

Thank you, Jane. And I mean that both sincerely and sarcastically.


Tweety Pin


[![A girl eating potatoes (vidcap)](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-15-a-girl-eating-potatoes/5528925105_dd1c9b3eeb_t.jpg "A girl eating potatoes (vidcap)")](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/5528925105 "View 'A girl eating potatoes (vidcap)' on Flickr.com")Last week, Nora was particularly loquacious before lunch, so I set up the video camera on a tripod in case she did something particularly cute during her lunch. As you may [have](/2011/02/21/identifying-dave-matthews/) [noticed](/2011/02/25/spanglish-shenanigans/), it's easier to make interview-style videos with her in her high chair because if she's on the floor, she's zooming around the house and it makes for an awkward video. Sure enough, after she'd had her fill of macaroni, she started pointing at the bookcase behind me and saying "_Una niña que come patata!_", I assured her that there were no girls eating potatoes on the bookshelf, but she persisted until I finally understood what she meant.  You have to admit that her assessment of the situation was pretty reasonable assuming you don't remember [going to the beach](/2010/06/24/shes-a-sand-eater/).

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pxmVbhtwg_M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


A girl eating potatoes


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-14-lunch-with-mother-theresa/5523622379_3a8c97b759_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Mother Theresa and Family">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-14-lunch-with-mother-theresa/5523622379_a327560d6e_t.jpg" alt="Mother Theresa and Family"/>
</a>

On Sunday we were visited by my lovely blogrollmate, [Mother Theresa](http://rainypamplona.blogspot.com/), and her beautiful family. They were visiting Santander for the weekend, and asked if they could stop by for a visit. I'm very glad they did. [The last time we saw them](/2008/07/14/san-fermin-2008/) was almost three years ago in Pamplona, their hometown, during the festival for which you have heard of their town, San Fermí­n. Incidentally, at that time, Nora was about a dozen cells big, considerably smaller than her fetal sibling is now. It seems an odd coincidence that we've only ever seen Theresa et. al. when Marga was pregnant.  They arrived mid-morning, which in Spain is around 12:30. It had rained for most of the morning, but we decided to throw some umbrellas on the stroller and brave the elements. And it was a good thing we did, because it didn't rain at all and actually got quite sunny and warm. We walked around the maritime walk which is "what there is to do" in Colindres. After entering town again, we stopped at _Cafe Limite_ for some wine, a non-alcoholic beer for Marga, and some soft drinks for Theresa's girls, whose [blog names](http://rainypamplona.blogspot.com/2011/02/importance-of-being-earnestand-not-just.html) are Catgirl, Secret Agent Mimi, and Ultraviolet, fifteen, thirteen, and eleven years old respectively. We later stopped at _La Comarca_, another bar, for another round of drinks, before heading home.

Once home, I turned the oven on for my pre-prepared Erik's Hamburger Pie dish, which might require a recipe post some time. As usual, when you have guests over and are trying to impress, the pie turned to mush and ended up more like soup. But it was damn tasty soup! When your guest asks for seconds _and_ the recipe, you have to be fairly pleased as a chef.

The conversation was absolutely delightful. It was such a rare treat to be around five other people that shared our two languages, and the conversation darted between languages without thought or planning. Seeing Theresa's daughters is a little like seeing into Nora's future. They are perfectly bilingual, but choose almost exclusively to speak in Spanish. I got a few "yes" and "no" responses out of Catgirl, almost nothing but smiles at my jokes out of Ultraviolet, and a few score English words out of SAM. But it was clear that they followed every word spoken. Theresa's husband, [known as](http://rainypamplona.blogspot.com/2011/02/importance-of-being-earnestand-not-just.html) The Professor, was exceedingly interesting, complimentary, and engaging...positively delightful to talk to.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-14-lunch-with-mother-theresa/5523622379_3a8c97b759_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Mother Theresa and Family">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-14-lunch-with-mother-theresa/5523622379_a327560d6e.jpg" alt="Mother Theresa and Family"/>
</a>

Have you ever seen eight more photogenic people? That was rhetorical.

At one point, I brought out [Nora's iPad](/2010/05/17/ipad-for-a-13-month-old/) and the theory that "the iPad causes family tension because everyone fights over who gets to use it" was totally confirmed. The Professor, who is actually a professor, immediately realized that it was lighter than the paper equivalents of the PDFs he normally carries around. I showed off a few features, and then let the girls play with [Gravilux](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gravilux/id367739550?mt=8), a game-ish app that is way more fun than it looks at first.

The other nice thing about having bilingual guests was that they could completely appreciate every word out of Nora's mouth. Nora was the center of attention for a fair amount of the time, but also managed to go off and play by herself for some of the lunch conversation, which was very nice. Of the girls, Catgirl did best with Nora because she made the most effort, but no one got much further than holding Nora's hand, except for Theresa, when they were departing, who got a kiss on the cheek from Nora, which made her feel deservedly special.

The worst thing about their visit was realizing that they live so far away (2.25 hours, according to Google) and that these wonderful visits can't be more frequent. It's fun having such engaging conversations, especially about parenting with experienced veterans, and especially in both languages, with the ability to switch fluidly from one to the other.


Lunch with Mother Theresa


This parenting thing is so easy, I think we should do it again! I'm pleased to announce that Marga is pregnant with our second child, who is expected to arrive around the end of October. I've never liked things that pop out, scream at me, and scare the crap out of me at Halloween, but I suspect I'll love this one. The pregnancy so far has been the polar opposite of the first one. With #1, Marga knew within hours of conception, through sensations that are difficult to describe, that she was pregnant. For #2, we knew we'd hit Ovulation Day spot on, but she felt nothing for a fortnight. Mild dizziness pushed us to buy a pregnancy test, which came out entirely ambiguous. The second line that's supposed to appear was just barely visible, but nowhere near [the strength it had been with #1](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/2865077172/). We bought another test. At just under 10€ each the indecisiveness was annoying. The second test was only slightly more positive than the first one, leaving us completely in doubt. But a doctor's visit confirmed that she did, in fact, have a parasitic human growing in her uterus.

Some advice for potential fathers... When your wife is waiting for the results of her pregnancy test, saying, "You know, [according to quantum physics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger's_cat), until we actually observe the results of the test, you're both pregnant _and_ not pregnant!" is not a good idea.

We're batting a thousand. Two pregnancies for two attempts. \[insert marksmanship joke here\] I know what some couples go through with fertility problems, and it makes me feel very blessed to be so fecund.

No sonograms or anything yet, as we're still in early days. Most people don't mention their pregnancies until they have an ultrasound to post, but I'm so pleased that I can't wait.

Wish us luck!



<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5509391316_f28b451305_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Mackerel">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5509391316_40d22288ea_t.jpg" alt="Mackerel"/>
</a>

Living in a fishing village has its perks. When the fishing seasons change, suddenly everyone knows someone that has some fish to get rid of. Mackerel season just started, and I've heard lots of people around town saying, "Hey, you want some mackerel? I've got some extra." It's unclear to me exactly why this happens. My best guess is that they overfish, either intentionally or by accident, especially at the beginning of the season when the fishing's good, and they can only sell a certain amount of it legally in the market, so they give away the rest to friends, and the friends give it to their friends, and eventually the fish trickle down to all the dinner tables in town.

I don't regularly interact with many of the fishermen, but the other day Bruno, my neighbor and local butcher, knocked on my door and offered me some. I threw it in the fridge and, the next day, asked him how I should prepare it. What follows is the incredibly simple recipe he gave me. But first some photographs...

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5508802269_566faa6e01_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Mackerel Fishing Boat">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5508802269_76d1170243.jpg" alt="Mackerel Fishing Boat"/>
</a>

A fishing boat returning with kilos upon kilos of mackerels.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5508800935_1b89db1ceb_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Mackerel Haul">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5508800935_dbd7807641_z.jpg" alt="Mackerel Haul"/>
</a>

Crates of mackerel loaded onto the docks.

## The Recipe

1. Chop the mackerels into slices, about two fingers wide, perpendicular to the spine.
2. Chop some garlic into thin sheets
3. Lightly fry the garlic for a minute
4. Lightly salt the mackerel slices and add to the frying pan
5. Fry until fully cooked
6. Serve and enjoy!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5509388302_166dc22b44_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Garlic">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5509388302_9deabdcd59.jpg" alt="Garlic"/>
</a>

I used six cloves of garlic.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5508795833_2ab1c59bdc_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Frying Garlic">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5508795833_3260c64664.jpg" alt="Frying Garlic"/>
</a>

Really, is there any food that isn't good fried with garlic?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5508790475_b0632edea7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Mackerel">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5508790475_f05fe0b0b0.jpg" alt="Mackerel"/>
</a>

We had four fish and it was the perfect, if a bit large, serving size for two people.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5509391316_f28b451305_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Mackerel">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5509391316_40d22288ea.jpg" alt="Mackerel"/>
</a>

You cut off the tail, of course.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5509393694_396376e944_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Mackerel">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5509393694_a13842195a.jpg" alt="Mackerel"/>
</a>

Chopped and lightly salted.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5508797489_331807cdfd_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Frying Mackerel">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5508797489_8ee6cf94e2.jpg" alt="Frying Mackerel"/>
</a>

Added to the pan.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5508798847_9bb31a3274_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Fried Mackerel">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-09-holy-mackerel-with-garlic-recipe/5508798847_6f238c1aa9.jpg" alt="Fried Mackerel"/>
</a>

Done and ready for serving. I didn't get any shots of the food on the plate because it looked so good I didn't stop to photograph it. Chopped like this, the bones, what I hate most about eating fish, were very easy to avoid.

Recipes don't get much more simple than this. Enjoy!


Holy Mackerel with Garlic Recipe!


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-08-be-careful-what-you-click-on-after-visiting-links-on-facebook/5432100262_4012f96d71_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Facebook Exclamation">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-08-be-careful-what-you-click-on-after-visiting-links-on-facebook/5432100262_32938fb031_t.jpg" alt="Facebook Exclamation"/>
</a>

Spammers can be really clever sometimes. Apparently there is some way to game the Facebook "Like" button such that any click on a webpage can be sent to Facebook as if you had clicked the "Like" button. So what people do is they bait you with a juicy looking webpage, and then once on the page, when you click to view a video, or sometimes they pop up a dialog saying "To verify that you are human, click here!", and that click gets registered as you "liking" that webpage. With the change last week where there is now no longer much difference between "liking" and "sharing" in how a web page shows up on your Facebook wall, this technique is gaining even more steam. From what I can tell, they aren't doing anything particularly malicious other than tricking people into posting salacious looking crap to their wall. 

## Naughty Miley

The most recent manifestation of this phenomenon is with a supposedly naughty video of Miley Cyrus. On someone's wall, and in your news feed, it looks like this:

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-08-be-careful-what-you-click-on-after-visiting-links-on-facebook/5508869237_5a5a471199_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="BEWARE! Miley Facebook Spam">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-08-be-careful-what-you-click-on-after-visiting-links-on-facebook/5508869237_296dc41e62.jpg" alt="BEWARE! Miley Facebook Spam"/>
</a>

When you click on the link, it takes you to a webpage that looks like this:

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-08-be-careful-what-you-click-on-after-visiting-links-on-facebook/5508813395_5fd0fe74e5_o_d.png" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Fake YouTube Trickery">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-08-be-careful-what-you-click-on-after-visiting-links-on-facebook/5508813395_fdf23bd7ee.jpg" alt="Fake YouTube Trickery"/>
</a>

Look like a video sharing website you've seen? The first thing that I noticed when I saw this page is how the font looks the way crappy non-anti-aliased fonts look in Internet Explorer on Windows machines. Sure enough, any click anywhere on this page results in Facebook posting this to your wall.

While I don't know the intricacies of how Facebook's "Like" button code works, I'm pretty sure that they could fix this with more careful javascript checks to verify the exact element the javascript event was fired on.

Until then, be very careful of what you click on after you see that a friend has "liked" a link that seems a little too interesting. And if you do fall for this (I did once), go to your wall and remove the post immediately to stop the spread of the spam to your more gullible friends.


Be careful what you click on after visiting links on Facebook


The following is a document written by my father, Paul Rasmussen, about a recent golfing excursion to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507506700_a4394ac0f1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Gang">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507506700_b8730320c8_t.jpg" alt="Gang"/>
</a>

John arrived Wednesday morning and loaded his stuff into my Odyssey. I had hurt my back three days earlier doing side-to-side squat jumps in front of my television set, so John loaded most of my stuff into the van too. I wasn't sure I would be able to compete in the thirteenth Myrtle Beach Classic, but I thought I might try. John drove us to David's lovely new house and David and Amy gave us a quick tour, but soon we had David's stuff loaded and were back on the road. Except for discovering that I had left my iPhone home, the drive to Myrtle Beach went smoothly. Time just seems to slip by unnoticed when friends are telling stories to each other. I still had my iPad, and I checked my email every half-hour, answering some questions from work. The highlight was an email from the Director asking if it was OK for him to accept the invitation of an old friend and join Facebook. After considering possible answers for several miles, I wrote back that he could, but only on his own time.  .paul-caption { font-size:0.9em; margin-bottom: -10px; font-weight:bold; position:relative; top:-10px; } 

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507506700_a4394ac0f1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Gang">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507506700_b8730320c8.jpg" alt="Gang"/>
</a>

Back: Keith, Jeff, Mike, Paul, Phil, David M. and Dave W. Front: Al, Dennis, Danny Scott, John, and Jake

We stopped and picked up keys for the four [Barefoot Resort](http://www.barefootgolf.com/) condos we would be renting for four nights. The condos turned out to be several miles away. The whole Barefoot area was huge, with hundreds of condo buildings, most containing twelve two-bedroom, two-bathroom condos on three floors. Perhaps they all rent out in July, but in February the occupancy rate was probably less than 10%. I was mildly disappointed with our four condos. They were all adequate, but the beds were just single beds instead of double beds, and the bedrooms were a little smaller than other places we have stayed. No matter though - the attraction this year was the golf. The Barefoot Resort is home to four of the finest golf courses at Myrtle Beach, and in our previous twelve years of golfing in Myrtle Beach, we had not played any of them. The surrounding area has many good restaurants, and keeping driving to a minimum has always been a consideration when planning golf outings.

Our condos were 514, 913, 1014, and 1112, each in a different building. I told John thanks for driving, and let him take his pick, and he chose 514 for himself, Dennis, Dave Wells and Dave Mursch. I selected 913 (building 9, room 13) for myself, Danny Cook, Phil and Keith. I assigned Jacob, Steve, Jon and Mike Caputo condo 1014, and put the four guys who were not competing in the golf tournament - Jeff, Mike Masterson, Danny Scott and Al - in condo 1112. Soon Jeff and Danny Scott showed up, and not long after that Steve, Jon and Mike Caputo showed up. They had flown into Wilmington on Tuesday and played a course there on Wednesday before driving down to Myrtle Beach. Six-foot five-inch Mike Masterson mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. Jeff drove to the airport around 5:30 to pick up Jacob, and Phil and Danny Cook arrived around 8:00, along with Colorado Keith, who they had picked up at the Raleigh airport on their way from Morganton to Myrtle Beach. Dennis and Dave Wells would be arriving the next day, just barely not in time for their Thursday practice round. Al's schedule was pretty much unknown.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5506945407_5c0ae1abe1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Phil and Keith">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5506945407_f5fa89e108.jpg" alt="Phil and Keith"/>
</a>

The Bluesman, Phil, and his friend Colorado Keith, relaxing in our condo with a simple whiskey on the rocks.

Around 7:00 most of us drove five minutes to Logan's Roadhouse, where we threw peanut shells on the floor and ate mostly fried things, although I had a salad. Later, back at the condos, I walked from condo to condo, and enjoyed reacquainting myself with old friends. Around 10:00 I wandered into the bedroom I would be sharing with Danny Cook, took my evening pills, and went to bed. Sometime later Danny came in, did his thing in the bathroom, and grumbled and snorted his way into bed. I lay quietly for the next few minutes as he tossed and turned, obviously not able to get comfortable. In less than 5 minutes he had given up, grabbed his pillows and blanket, and made himself a bed on the couch. The next morning I asked him about it, and he said the bed wasn't comfortable, but the couch was.

Sometime between 7 and 8 in the morning we drove to the Barefoot Resort Clubhouse for our breakfast. I was expecting a breakfast buffet, but instead we were allowed to order from their breakfast menu. I had an omelet, along with juice and coffee. Thursday's practice round was the "free round" of the pay for 3 and play 4 deal at Barefoot, which meant that we weren't allowed to start until after noon. Around 10:30, however, word reached us from the clubhouse that there were very few people playing that day, and we could essentially play whenever we wished. As a result, we all teed off a little early. I played with David Mursch and John White. My aching back kept me from swinging with any confidence, so I scored badly. John played very well, consistently hitting his drives over 200 yards into the fairway. David, who had not played 18 consecutive holes of golf in more than 20 years, turned out to be a fairly skilled golfer, with a good swing, and a long drive. His short game lacked control, as would be expected after such a long layoff, but he seemed to enjoy all 120 or so strokes.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507535282_28fcb5a654_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Amigos">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507535282_b73b378f65.jpg" alt="Amigos"/>
</a>

I had fun playing with David Mursch, Jacob and Dennis on the final day of the tournament. Nice hat Jacob.

After Thursday's practice round, we returned to the condos, where I found that Alan had arrived. Al, along with Jeff, Danny Scott and Mike Masterson, would not be competing in the golf tournament this year. The four of them, staying in what came to be known as the "Ne're-do-well" condo, would have their own golf skills competition, organized by Jeff.

When darkness fell, our last two competitors arrived. Dennis and Dave Wells had flown in from Michigan that afternoon, and had only had time to play 12 holes before they had to stop. Dennis has probably been to all thirteen Myrtle Beach Classic tournaments, but this was the first year for Dave Wells, his co-worker and bass player.

As stated on the itinerary left in each condo, the handicaps and first-round pairings for the Myrtle Beach Classic were posted in The Committee's condo at Happy Hour on Thursday evening. For the first time ever, we had three golfers with single digit handicaps - Mike Caputo, Jon Smedley, and returning champion Steve Hemphill. Each of these golfers was assigned a handicap of 8 by The Committee. The average handicap for our group was 24.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507505236_1118eeefa1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Al with Drink">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507505236_b2011a7dea.jpg" alt="Al with Drink"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507539536_30345ffa11_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Al in Coat">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507539536_6a01490a71.jpg" alt="Al in Coat"/>
</a>

On the left – Al Green before he knew he had been awarded the â€œParticipantâ€ medal. On the right – after.

Some of us had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, and some of us went to Sticky Fingers. Eventually we all ended up back at the Barefoot condos, where some people played Texas Hold-em, and others gathered in Dennis (Little Walter) and Dave's (Fingers) condo where they were joined by Morganton's best blues guitarist, the original Bluesman himself, Phil Shirley. I joined in with my harp on several songs, but mostly I was content to listen to Dennis\\' harp riffs. Sometime around 10:00 I found my way back to my condo. I joined another Texas Hold-em game, but the going was slow, and I was quick to bluff my way out of the game and into my bed. I guess when you are used to on-line poker on a fast internet connection, playing at the dining room table with a bunch of half-drunk friends can seem a little slow.

We were all up fairly early on Friday. The weather was supposed to be good, but it was cloudy, and threatening to be a cold and dank day. Now that it was Friday, breakfast at the clubhouse was set up buffet-style instead of ordering off the menu. I tried a few pieces of bacon and same clumpy scrambled eggs, but my back was hurting quite a bit.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507537364_6e3e3d8fc1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Jake and Dennis">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507537364_f8179f2dbe.jpg" alt="Jake and Dennis"/>
</a>

Jacob, from Texas, and Dennis, from Michigan, remain good friends. I\\'m the angel sitting on Jake\\'s shoulder.

Jon, Mike Caputo, Dennis and Dave Wells were the first group off. I was in the second group, with Keith, Phil, and John White. I played better than I thought I would, despite dribbling at least three drives towards the lady's tee. I shot 104, John had 108, Keith shot 94, and Phil shot 101. When I returned to the condo, my back really started to hurt. I took John's advice and lay down on the floor with my feet up on a chair. Before he left to go work out at the gym, he told me how to get up from the ground when the time came. "Roll to your side, and then get on your knees" he said. Forty-five minutes later I decided that I would rise, but it was at least 10 minutes later before I made it to my feet. I could move painfully from one side to the other, but there was no way I could fight through the back pain that would result from getting on my knees. As time wore on, though, I realized I would have to make the move, and eventually I did. I developed and posted the pairings and tee times for the next morning's round. Later, when Phil, Keith and Danny brought me a chicken dinner, I gobbled it down. Gin helped dull my pain and lift my spirits, and I managed to walk to each of the condos, but it wasn't long before I was back in my bed, suffering each time I moved. All night long.

When I rose Saturday morning, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be attempting to golf. Every movement hurt. After breakfast I returned to the condo and moped around for a bit before throwing my lot in with the Ne're-do-wells. Danny and Mike had gone golfing at Waterway Hills. I joined Jeff and Al in a midday trip to Martin's Golf Superstore where I walked around slowly for 20 minutes, contemplating purchase after purchase, and leaving empty-handed. Then we went to Good Fella's Seafood Hut and Bar for lunch before returning to the condos.

As the men returned from their rounds, they dropped their scorecards off at my condo. The score ranged from the 82s shot by Mike Caputo and Steve to Danny's 123. Rookie David Mursch had improved by eleven strokes, shooting 113, his best score in 20 years. It was John White, however, who would win the Most Improved Award (the Pre-Nike Contract Tiger Woods Bobble-Head Doll). He shot a 95, improving by 13 strokes.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5506948339_2a4474c778_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Smedley">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5506948339_a07c94d9ac.jpg" alt="Smedley"/>
</a>

Dr. Jon Smedley seems awfully nice for a physician and he plays an almost flawless game of golf.

Saturday night was our last night together, and we had a lot to do. I had to group the eleven remaining competitors into four flights, and post the next day's pairings and tee times. We were scheduled to go out to eat at Rockefeller's Oyster Bar. It was almost Happy Hour. This would be our last chance to make music together. Mainly though, Saturday evening is our story telling time. For the last decade, the carved wooden chimpanzee holding a golf club figure I had purchased at a chainsaw art shop in England's Lake District had served as the trophy for our story-telling contest. Somehow it had picked up the name of the Monkey's Uncle Award. The story is supposed to be about something the story-teller saw happen during this year's tournament, but no story is discouraged. For the majority of the years of this millennium, the hardest I laugh all year is at the Myrtle Beach story telling contest.

Our numbers were down by three, as Jon, Steve and Mike Caputo had decided to go out on Myrtle Beach's gambling boat. The boat leaves at 7:30, and comes back at 12:30 in the morning. The ride is free, and a dinner buffet is free, and as long as you are gambling in their casino, drinks are free. I heard the next morning that this "free" trip had cost the three of them close to a grand combined.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507505700_e106dab7c2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Paul and Al with Drink">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5507505700_dd8f08c575.jpg" alt="Paul and Al with Drink"/>
</a>

Al dresses better than I do, and he enjoys beer more than I do, but I still golf a little better than Al.

Jeff announced the winner of the Ne\\'re-do-wells golf skills challenge. Perhaps because his recent knee replacement kept him from taking full swings, the skills he selected were all short game skills, such as putting and chipping. Jeff won the first place medal. Danny Scott won the second place medal. Mike Masterson won the third place medal. Al was awarded a medal which read â€œParticipantâ€.

We had a new award this year – the Alice Shankshoulder award for the man who played most like a woman. I thought I would get it, but I barely lost out to Dave Wells.

I don't remember the stories told at our story-telling contest this year, although I recall that John White won. I remember that I kicked it off with a story about a shot I had attempted which had all the earmarks of being a terrific shot (between two trees right in front of me, over the next trees, over the pond and onto the green). I kept my head down, and never saw where the ball went, although my ears told me quickly that I had hit one of the two trees in front of me. Although three guys were there watching, nobody saw or heard where the ball came down, so I had to take a two stroke penalty and try the shot again.

I hate to go to bed early on the Saturday night of a Myrtle Beach Classic, but at my age I don't have much choice. I seem to run out of energy. When I returned to Morganton and downloaded my Fitbit pedometer into their website, I saw why. It seems I take about five times as many steps on a Myrtle Beach day as I do on a normal day at home. My 18,390 steps on Thursday set a new personal record, and on Saturday I walked almost as much.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5506939171_eb7bd2cc1b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Paul and Phil">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5506939171_ff7d6d2f18.jpg" alt="Paul and Phil"/>
</a>

Phil is fun to play with. He is constantly pleasant and cheerful. His golf game is good, but his pickin' is great.

On Sunday my back wasn't much better, and I was pretty sure I couldn't play. After breakfast I wished the guys the best, and went back to my condo to watch Tiger Woods play on TV. Pretty soon a couple of things sank in. First, it was the prettiest day yet. Second, Tiger wasn't doing well. Third, a trip to the Ne're-do-wells condo revealed that they were preparing to head home. Fourth, I realized that check-out time was 10:00 am, and I would essentially have nowhere to go, and nobody to go there with. Thinking quickly, I raced back to the clubhouse and had the Cart Master take me out to where my group was all gathered on the first tee, waiting to tee off. I arrived in the nick of time, since there was a delay of about an hour due to the early frost. I was delighted to put my bag on Dennis' cart and play along with David Mursch and Jacob. I didn't play well, and never really turned in a score, since I was already out of the tournament, but David, Jake and Dennis all played well, and it was fun watching them and joking with them.

After the first nine, Dennis and Dave Wells decided they would only have time for a few more holes before they would have to leave for the airport. After we finished the 12th hole, Dennis took me back to play with Danny Cook, Phil and Keith, and he and Dave Wells took off for the airport.

As soon as Jon, Mike and Steve finished their round, they took off for the airport. Dennis, always the Master of Ceremonies, was gone, along with Dave Wells. Tired to the bone, I sat down and calculated the tournament results, and Jacob helped me hand out the trophies. Jon Smedley had barely beaten John White in the Championship Flight. Phil Shirley won the First Flight. Jacob Pittman won the Second Flight. Danny Cook won the Third Flight.

My good friend Jacob helped load me and my clubs into my Odyssey, and soon John, David and I were on our way back to Morganton. The thirteenth annual Myrtle Beach Classic was over. Soon it will be time to start looking forward to the next one.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5506880597_589114cd9a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Shankshoulder">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-07-myrtle-beach-classic-2011/5506880597_5c0efcbd9d.jpg" alt="Shankshoulder"/>
</a>

A PDF version of this document is also [available for download](http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5100577/MBC2011.pdf).


Myrtle Beach Classic 2011


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496868887_1b1afb4f03_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496868887_8bec041407_t.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

A few weeks ago, we received a letter from Nora's daycare that read something like this:

> On Friday, March 4, we will celebrate Carnival and go on a parade around town with all the other daycares and schools. This year the children will be dressed up as demons (very appropriate) and the educators and parents and grandparents will be dressed up as little angels (which is what we are).

When I commented to the daycare boss how much I appreciated her sense of humor, she thanked me and said that she'd actually received one complaint from some schmuck about calling her daughter a demon. Jeez.

A few days ago, we'd been given Nora's demon tail to be sewed onto a pair of trousers, and been instructed that she wear the darkest clothes she has. Here-in lies the problem with celebrating Carnival in the northern hemisphere: it's bloody cold in February and early March! So either you wear your coat over your costume and no one can see your costume, or you are cold. One of the many things that was well done about the way our daycare organized things, was that the costumes were made of plastic and designed to be worn on the outside of your coat. Nora and I got up a little earlier than usual, [had breakfast](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/5497195234/) and headed to daycare, I with long underwear and white clothes, and Nora with her tail. Upon arriving, we found lots of kids and parents in various stages of costume. I dropped Nora off in the kids room and I went to the room where the adults were getting painted, winged, and haloed.

Once in costume, I began my official duties as The Official Daycare Photographer, snapping photos of all the kids. I was told to be sure that I got a shot of every single one. I did my best. At first it was easy to get good portrait shots of the kids because they were fascinated by my camera and would stare blankly at it the way children that haven't learned the "it's not polite to stare" social norm do.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496613339_39155aa174_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496613339_37aede98db.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

This gives a sense of the chaos of little demons.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5497261268_37cff70d09_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5497261268_9fc4738f4c.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

My little demon.

Eventually the costumed parents and kids were led outside. At these preschool daycare facilities, they only have kids between 6 months and 3 years old. The way it works, apparently, is that the three year olds are trusted to walk for the entire parade, and they are held together by a rope with handles on it. The two year olds are generally pushed in something, and the one year olds are in their individual strollers. This year, they had designed a wonderful little trailer for the two year olds to ride in.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5497268168_01cca40eec_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5497268168_6e05b43cbb.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

The two year old trailer.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496691479_932becf0c8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496691479_b3e9854980.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

At first, Nora was not at all pleased to be placed in the trailer, but she soon got used to it and even enjoyed the ride.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496701891_3e3171f757_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496701891_44dab136c8.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

The three year old devils.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496806369_13a216114a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496806369_fc2d378be6.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

A trailer full of little demons.

Just like [last year](/2010/02/12/carnival-2010-in-colindres/), we walked to another daycare and waited for the kids to come out of that one. Because our daycare boss, Adela, is so incredibly efficient, we always get there a little early, and the other daycare is always running a little late. The costume theme for the other daycare was this bizarre nondescript Persian Aladdin-esque look, no where near as imaginative, well-executed, or smile-inducing as our theme.

We then continued on to the town church square, where we waited for the kids from a local primary school to arrive. They were dressed as what I was brought up to call Native Americans. All the stereotypes were in play, with some seriously elaborate costumes. I was quite impressed.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5497570834_f7a21f23d9_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5497570834_6f2208e32e.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

One little, two little, three little indians... This is Elias, the son of [Nora's hair stylist](/2011/02/03/noras-first-pigtails/), Ana.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496889579_fbc660895a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496889579_4702074250.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

The teachers wore little infant dolls on their backs. Creepy.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5497481314_8c4ea6fa46_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5497481314_50776a14ab.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

Another school must have let the kids vote, because they were all dressed up as _Sponge Bob Square Pants_.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496946507_3bbcf93f98_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496946507_09deaf1049.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

Yet another school of older children were dressed as doctors and were made to carry around dolls in stretchers. Bizarre. Hair nets, smocks and mustaches (because all doctors are men, don't you know?). It was a pretty lazy effort compared to our daycare.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496894903_546ececcc1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496894903_8dd189c2dc_z.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

A woman I know from around town was kind enough to offer to take a photograph of me. Mighty angelic, don't you think?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5497490406_2209ec36b4_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5497490406_504de5253e.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

Nora and me.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496877601_00d339372c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496877601_7b70f55488.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

This is Adela, the daycare boss that organized us all. She said there were fifty kids and thirty parents that participated from our daycare. The tails, horns, wings, and halos were purchased, but the rest of the costumes were handmade by the daycare employees. It was very, very well done.

Once all the schools had merged, we all paraded about 200 meters to a central square in town and walked around its circumference a few times while the town's DJ, a guy that handles the microphone at all the local events, commented on our costumes and generally herded us around. There was music and dancing for a few minutes, and then it was time to head back to daycare.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496990637_ff4dda782a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496990637_57a95d4c38_z.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

A costumed portrait of Nora back at the windy daycare yard. Probably a good idea to just draw on the pitchfork rather than actually arming the children with barbed tridents.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5497006133_fe26e5498b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5497006133_0f7db5c32d.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

All the daycare workers: the angels that made it all possible.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496868887_1b1afb4f03_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/5496868887_8bec041407.jpg" alt="Carnaval 2011 - Colindres"/>
</a>

Back at home, Nora ate about three times her normal lunch portion and promptly zonked out; she'd had a full and exciting morning of fun.

I must admit to not enjoying [last year's Carnival celebration](/2010/02/12/carnival-2010-in-colindres/) that much, but I enjoyed this year's immensely and I'm looking forward to next year.

For now, though, I'm going to give up wearing costumes for Lent.

All 194 photos can be seen here in [thumbnail](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/sets/72157626069284401/) or [slideshow](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/sets/72157626069284401/show/) format.


Carnival 2011 in Colindres - Angels and Demons


[![How to break into your own house (freeze frame)](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-04-how-to-break-into-your-own-house/5495148332_c232e5d7fc_t.jpg "How to break into your own house (freeze frame)")](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/5495148332 "View 'How to break into your own house (freeze frame)' on Flickr.com")Nora has learned a new trick: climbing into her house through the window. Naturally, I set about to record a video of her doing so, and two unforeseen events occurred. First, Narcissus noticed herself on the camera viewfinder and had to run over for a closer look. And second, when I tried to use the excuse of "Oh no, your key is inside the house!" to get her to climb through the window, she did, but then she berated me for being such a jerk as to throw her key into the house. The result was a rather bizarre, but still cute video.I was just out of frame to the left, ready to catch her if she lost her grip. I'm still too cautious to let her try the maneuver without a spotter.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QvHHCwUGsjM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

That's her potty there just outside her house. She likes to sit there, but doesn't really understand what its for or have conscious control over the necessary sphincters yet.


How to break into your own house


[![rachel-maddow](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-03-economic-populism/3932441157_d17cefcc18_t.jpg)](http://www.flickr.com/photos/belovedland/3932441157/ "rachel-maddow by pflashpfister, on Flickr")[One of my most profound epiphanies](/2006/06/19/voting/) about politics occurred almost five years ago, when this blog was in its infancy. I realized that, merely by definition of the two political parties' values, the only way for the Conservative party to gain power is to make a lot of noise and reduce voter turnout. This is because the vast majority of people are, by definition, going to support more socialist wealth-distributing economic policies. This is an absolute political truth that has always been true and will forever continue to be true. The way the Republican party in the US circumvents this is to side with Religion and the issues like abortion and gay marriage that fall out of strong Biblical religious conviction. These issues, of course, fall along the Authoritarian-Libertarian political spectrum, [which is orthogonal to](/2008/10/16/everything-is-gray/) the Conservative-Liberal economic political spectrum.What got me thinking about this today was last night's _The Rachel Maddow Show_. I don't watch much political cable news punditry, but there's something I really like about Maddow. She has a way of clearly explaining things and asking insightful questions of her expert guests that tickles my intellect. Is she biased towards my side of the political spectrum? Of course she is. But, like _The Daily Show_, she will give the third degree to either political party if she thinks they deserve it. And she's also one of the few pundits that will happily admit when she's made a mistake, just like a good journalist or scientist should be, though most rarely are.

Last night, she laid out, much more elegantly, the case I made in the first paragraph, outlining the fundamental difference between the two political parties in the United States, although her explanation is valid for any modern democracy. I think it would be worth ten of your minutes to watch this video.

Here's an important bit of the transcript:

> It's kind of a numerical mismatch between these two sides. But it always is. It's the upper crust versus the middle class. It's the few people who own the company versus the number of people who work for the company. It's the people who write the paychecks versus those who cash the paychecks. It's the economic elite versus the average person.
> 
> And what the elite lack in terms of numbers of people, they makeup for in leverage in terms of the amount of money they can spend in order to advocate for their side. And that – that split between these two sides, aside from social issues and civil rights and issues of political style, that's split is the reason that there are two different political parties in the United States of America.
> 
> And because the Democratic side is inherently the one that has more people in it, and this is a democracy, and it's one person, one vote, the Republican side, in order to compete with that, has to use money to leverage as many votes as they can, because their side represents the interest of fewer people. That's where they found social issues and abortion and gay rights and religion and all of these other things to come in handy.
> 
> There's an economic split between the two parties, between Democrats and Republicans, but more people are on the Democratic side of that economic split, almost by definition. So, Republicans, by and large, have had to use noneconomic issues to get people to vote with the economic elite and against their own economic interest.


Economic Populism


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5491186861_6d80cf8c62_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="The Golden Gate Bridge">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5491186861_36f4a8aecf_t.jpg" alt="The Golden Gate Bridge"/>
</a>

Three months ago, when I went on a [ferry ride under the Golden Gate Bridge](/2010/12/07/san-francisco-2010-day-1-of-4/), my shutter finger got a little too excited and I ended up snapping several dozen photographs of the bridge. Part of the reason was that we were lucky enough to take the ferry on a clear afternoon, right at [golden hour](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_hour_(photography)). Golden hour is a term in photography and cinematography referring to the first and last hour of sunlight every day, in which the sunlight, after passing through a larger portion of the Earth's atmosphere than normal, takes on a golden hue, which makes the world seem warmer and generally more photogenic. I meant to post these photos immediately after blogging about the trip, but the [intense](/2010/12/07/san-francisco-2010-day-1-of-4/) [series](/2010/12/08/san-francisco-2010-day-2-of-4/) of [four](/2010/12/08/san-francisco-2010-day-3-of-4/) [posts](/2010/12/09/san-francisco-2010-day-4-of-4/) about our trip wore me out almost as much as [the walk from Fisherman's Wharf to the Golden Gate Bridge](/2010/12/08/san-francisco-2010-day-2-of-4/) did. Here are just a few of [the photos](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/sets/72157626055365511) I took on that ferry ride.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5489567287_7fb9645c49_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The Golden Gate Bridge">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5489567287_ccdb2bb2b3.jpg" alt="The Golden Gate Bridge"/>
</a>

Heading towards the bridge.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5490167156_ed4370164a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The Golden Gate Bridge">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5490167156_8ce1bc3c6d.jpg" alt="The Golden Gate Bridge"/>
</a>

Getting closer.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5489574665_8af3dac117_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The Golden Gate Bridge">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5489574665_90f0ef5042_z.jpg" alt="The Golden Gate Bridge"/>
</a>

Golden tower.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5490173530_0613d59970_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The Golden Gate Bridge">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5490173530_5a9ba29405.jpg" alt="The Golden Gate Bridge"/>
</a>

Passing under the bridge.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5490177446_d36214961f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The Golden Gate Bridge">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5490177446_71c8c4d084_z.jpg" alt="The Golden Gate Bridge"/>
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This side is lit better.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5489593539_ce9387571b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The Golden Gate Bridge">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5489593539_773ca4f3fb.jpg" alt="The Golden Gate Bridge"/>
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I never realized just how long the bridge was until I saw it in person.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5490239436_073a201397_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The Golden Gate Bridge">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5490239436_5925c218e3.jpg" alt="The Golden Gate Bridge"/>
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Back on the eastern side, with the sun shining through the struts.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5489667831_040440e913_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The Golden Gate Bridge">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5489667831_70553166df.jpg" alt="The Golden Gate Bridge"/>
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Silhouetted tower.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5490265960_b1ec731f4c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="San Francisco Skyline at Golden Hour">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5490265960_1e84b807be.jpg" alt="San Francisco Skyline at Golden Hour"/>
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The San Francisco skyline at golden hour.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5490270530_55e2f171b1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The Golden Gate Bridge">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5490270530_7d670213aa.jpg" alt="The Golden Gate Bridge"/>
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The sun is setting.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5489676731_f963d6ce0e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The Golden Gate Bridge">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-02-golden-gate-at-golden-hour/5489676731_3c4f90bf84.jpg" alt="The Golden Gate Bridge"/>
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Sunset over the San Francisco Bay.


Golden Gate At Golden Hour


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-01-the-terrible-twos-arrived-early/3488385909_20c105d5ef_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Pissed Off">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2011-03-01-the-terrible-twos-arrived-early/3488385909_85f76f6aed_t.jpg" alt="Pissed Off"/>
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It was like flipping a switch. My cute loving toddler turned into a hateful monster.

Nora had a cold last week, so I got her some cough medicine at the local _farmácia_. It cleared up her cough, but also gave her an upset stomach, diarrhea and vomiting, which made for a terribly long weekend, during which she insisted on watching [this video of herself](/2011/02/25/spanglish-shenanigans/) about a thousand times, each time tearing up when her onscreen doppelgí¤nger got upset.

Somewhere among the "Oh, poor thing, she's so sick," whining, twenty-four days before her second birthday, a special, dreaded, kind of behavior arose: **The Tantrum**. My first morning alone with her after her transformation was really difficult. She woke up crying and was unable to say what she wanted. I asked about fifty "Do you want X?" questions, but got negative responses to all of them. After a while, she calmed down enough to choose a _Danonino_, drinkable yogurt, from the short breakfast menu I offered her.

Later in the morning, she tripped and fell, hitting her faceplant-preventing hands hard on the floor. I immediately picked her up, to hug her, but she pushed me away. When I set her down, she ran to the farthest corner of the house from me, the kitchen, and continued screaming. I approached her, but she lashed out at me with an angry swipe of the arm. "Do you want me to be here?" I asked, "No!" she responded. To verify her understanding, I reversed the question, "Do you want me to leave?", and she said, "Sí­!"

I left the room, proverbial tail between my legs.

A few minutes later, I entered the kitchen and asked if she wanted a hug. "NO!", she screamed.

This was my first experience of what felt like hatred from my offspring, and it hurt. A lot. I've found that the best way to measure how much you love someone is by how much it hurts when they are mean to you.

After fifteen or twenty minutes of crying, she came and found me and gave me a hug, and then she was fine, though I remained shaken.

From what I've read and heard, this is _incredibly_ typical behavior and it's important not to take any of it personally, because the child is just learning about emotions and how to handle them. But the first time surprised me like a punch to the gut.

Apparently toddlers' emotional states change like the weather in Scotland, where they say, "If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes." (Google tells me they say this everywhere, but I first heard it in Scotland.) And it's true. I've seen Nora go from an all out bawl to giggling with delight in about two seconds. And vice versa. That kind of emotional agility is very foreign to me as an adult.

Today she pulled a similar stunt, but I took a deep breath and kept my cool. Sure enough, it was over pretty quickly and she was her adorable self again.

By the time she turns three, I should be a Zen master of tantrums.


14 posts from March, 2011