
<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-family-portraits-winter-2013/8507727568_8c39583f50_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Family Portrait">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-family-portraits-winter-2013/8507727568_b939cf7c3f_t.jpg" alt="Family Portrait"/>
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The Christmas after Nora was born, I used iPhoto's nice calendar designing functionality to make a calendar of photos of Nora from throughout the year. I knew at the time that I was indenturing myself to providing a calendar every year in the foreseeable future, and sure enough, the expectation was there, and I have been meeting it. When it came time to make the 2013 calendar, I realized that I didn't have many photos of the entire family together, so I vowed to take some. I set up the tripod on a January day when we were relatively dressed up and took some photos. I thought I'd share them with you here.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-family-portraits-winter-2013/8507727568_8c39583f50_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Family Portrait">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-family-portraits-winter-2013/8507727568_b939cf7c3f_z.jpg" alt="Family Portrait"/>
</a>

The 3.5 of us.

I bought two new sweaters this year, both with this type of collar. The shop attendant called it a "smoking" collar, probably because it looks a bit like a "smoking jacket", but some internet searches tell me that the preferred term in English is a "shawl collar". Whatever it's called, I love it.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-family-portraits-winter-2013/8506618885_6dcfb96e21_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Family Portrait">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-family-portraits-winter-2013/8506618885_5e9ffdfe18.jpg" alt="Family Portrait"/>
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Nora with her _abuelos_.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-family-portraits-winter-2013/8506619753_641ede1558_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Family Portrait">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-family-portraits-winter-2013/8506619753_ac457ab283.jpg" alt="Family Portrait"/>
</a>

All together.


Family Portraits - Winter 2013


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-state-of-the-offspring-address-february-2013/8507506440_6d5bbab681_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Nora Writing">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-state-of-the-offspring-address-february-2013/8507506440_d2ea641d38_t.jpg" alt="Nora Writing"/>
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Nora has always had a bit of anxiety associated with bedtime. When she was sleeping in her crib and could speak enough to request it, she demanded that I hold her hand, through the crib bars, as she fell asleep. Trying to escape from someone's grasp and sneak out of the pitch black room as they slowly lose consciousness is an interesting game. I would've preferred to do more parental negotiating in this area, my wife's schedule means that she has to get up very early in the morning, so I often had to do whatever kept her quiet. I did, however, manage over the course of months to only promise to sit down outside her door as she fell asleep, allowing for smoother getaways.  Over the past few months, we took some steps backwards on this issue. There were a couple nights where Nora got up six or seven times to come into our bedroom to ask me to tuck her back into bed and complain that she'd specifically asked me, hours earlier at her bedtime, for me to "sit down and not go away" from outside her door. Since Nora's ![Cover Me!](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-state-of-the-offspring-address-february-2013/8506662915_5d22c0b900_m.jpg)room is also our guest bedroom, in desperation to get some sleep, after about the seventh visit, I just went to sleep in her room. Then the following night she asked if I was going to sleep in her room again. When I said no, she began to cry and complain, and, it being late with her pregnant mother needing to sleep, I had to give in. Some parents might have lied, saying they'd sleep in the same room as their child, but then really not, but I can't bring myself to break promises to my child like that; if I tell her I'll do something, I'll do it. With the pregnancy, sleep became even more important for my wife, so we decided not to fight this battle anymore until our son is born, and I've been sleeping in my daughter's room for the past few months.

A couple weeks ago, Nora brought home a paper from school, as she often does, informing us of upcoming school events, etc. This paper was titled "Habits of Autonomy"; it was a list of activities that a child Nora's age should be able to do on her own. My wife did an excellent theatrical reading of the list as if she'd just brought stone tablets down from Mount Sinai. The list included getting dressed and undressed, brushing teeth, eating with utensils, and drawing, as well as a four point plan for implementing each item: 1) Decide, 2) Explain, 3) Practice, 4) Supervise. Many of them Nora already did regularly, but then, at the end of the list, came the big one: **_dormir solo_**.

We asked Nora if she wanted to sleep all by herself like The Paper From Viky (her teacher) had dictated, and after considering it for a few seconds, much to our surprise, she said that she did. We promised an ice cream the following day if she did. That night, she put on her pajamas much more autonomously than ever before and said that she wanted to sleep alone. And sure enough, she did! She got her ice cream the next morning, and has slept alone ever since. Needless to say, we're thrilled.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-state-of-the-offspring-address-february-2013/8510373394_da3ec23158_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora Sleeping">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-state-of-the-offspring-address-february-2013/8510373394_feb7303441.jpg" alt="Nora Sleeping"/>
</a>

Looking back on the whole saga, I don't think we could've just produced any old paper and reverently read a set of rules. It was really important that the list had come from her beloved and authority-respected teacher. Still, we might have to remember this trick for making future behavioral 180Â° turns.

### Yeah, but…

One day Nora and I were having our discussion we have several times a day about how sometimes you can't have what you want _right this instant_, and I became aware that I was volleying my counterarguments back to her with the phrase, "Yeah, but…". I'm pretty sure that this isn't [a regular verbal tic of mine](/2012/06/01/youre-gonna-wanna-read-this/), but it was just something I was doing during that one argument. Somehow it really made an impression on Nora, because for the past few weeks, anytime she wants to rebut an argument, she says "Yeah, but…" She even does it in Spanish, with a "Yeah, _pero_…", which doesn't sound as out-of-place as you might think, because Spaniards do sometimes use an anglo-germanic "ya" expression in such cases.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-state-of-the-offspring-address-february-2013/8507532478_8d8115db10_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Barfly">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-state-of-the-offspring-address-february-2013/8507532478_e815519a8d.jpg" alt="Barfly"/>
</a>

She and I share a common passion for the Spanish pastime of drinking and snacking in bars.

### Writing

Perhaps we've been a bit negligent on the topic of reading and writing, but Nora's never really shown much interest or understanding as we point to words and sound them out. However, this month, she's started pointing to letters and saying someone's name that starts with that letter. Apparently they have photos of the kids in her class assigned to each letter on a bulletin board or something. Then she started saying, "I can draw that letter!" So we gave her some paper, and sure enough, she can pretty closely approximate some capital letters.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-state-of-the-offspring-address-february-2013/8507506440_6d5bbab681_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora Writing">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-state-of-the-offspring-address-february-2013/8507506440_d2ea641d38.jpg" alt="Nora Writing"/>
</a>

Not too surprisingly, it took me about thirty seconds to find [a web site](http://www.handwritingworksheets.com/flash/printdots/) that would let me print out letter writing worksheets with whatever text I wanted. We've been heaping praise upon her when she does well with these, and other, worksheets, so she's pretty excited about the whole thing.

The state of the offspring is strong!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-state-of-the-offspring-address-february-2013/8472880323_738be9c26c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnival Clown 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-25-state-of-the-offspring-address-february-2013/8472880323_71a494a3c5_z.jpg" alt="Carnival Clown 2013"/>
</a>


State of the Offspring Address - February 2013


![Rap Thumb](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-24-my-rap-video-debut/mqdefault.jpg)Normally, I try not to blog about my _gangsta_ days in Los Angeles or all the rival gang members I popped caps in, but every so often one of my homies from da 'Hood calls me up to provide cameo cred to a rising rap star, and I take the private jet back to my L.A. stomping grounds. Snoop and I are still pretty tight, but I had a falling out with Jay-Z after Beyoncé found me a bit too fetching. You know how it is…  Was that White Boy enough for you? The truth is that I really am in a rap video. One of my never-met-in-person internet friends, a guy that used to comment around this blog occasionally, sent me a Facebook message this morning asking me if it was really me in this rap video he was apparently watching. This video really is rubbish, but I can't judge, because I often watch some pretty embarrassing stuff on YouTube. It's not so much a rap song as a list of words read out in rhythm. Normally rap songs have some semblance of subject-verb grammar agreement, but this is just a list…of English words that begin with the letter L.

Warning, ladies! My appearance in this video is quite provocative. I appear around the 1:42 mark. Be prepared to swoon.

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4DnQw7ZK0F4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It is slightly annoying that this Epic Lloyd guy didn't at least seek a little permission to use my photograph. I'm normally pretty helpful when such requests come in, and I probably would've given him permission. It's also a bit ironic, given my life story, that the word chosen, for which my photograph was used, was "leer", which is a much more common word in Spanish – meaning: to read – than in English. An image search for it returns little more than books or people reading. Somehow – search for "leering"? – my photo was located and deemed appropriate enough.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-24-my-rap-video-debut/3864631125_d3f0efcae2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Leering Erik">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-24-my-rap-video-debut/3864631125_e1458a1b23_t.jpg" alt="Leering Erik"/>
</a>

The really odd thing about this is that the chances of an internet friend I've never met happening upon this video and recognizing a practically subliminal image of my sexy mug seems _extremely_ rare. This leads me to conclude that, for someone who shares as much photography as I do, there are probably many, many more videos, or other forms of art, that use my work without permission than I will ever find and that will never credit me.

It's also a bit creepy that the 100,000+ viewers (in the first month!) of this video have seen me leering at them, if only for a split second.

Peace out.

Word.


My Rap Video Debut


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8474892479_da5d9b2d90_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Golf Trophy">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8474892479_192a71d237_t.jpg" alt="Golf Trophy"/>
</a>

Last week I took my annual golf vacation to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to participate in the Myrtle Beach Classic, a golf competition among good friends that my father organizes every year in February. Since I started going in 2004, I've only missed one year (2011). Sadly, my good friend Jacob couldn't make it this year, as he was called off on a business trip to Singapore. Careers can be so annoying sometimes! Despite his absence, fun was had, golf was played, music was made, and trophies were awarded.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8474915923_e3e0b87222_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Myrtle Beach Classic Jam Session">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8474915923_20f232a716.jpg" alt="Myrtle Beach Classic Jam Session"/>
</a>

One of the best times of this annual trip is when we break out the guitars, harmonicas and percussion instruments and jam into the night.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8474924595_bd29e181ba_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Myrtle Beach Classic Jam Session">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8474924595_9d014cf6da.jpg" alt="Myrtle Beach Classic Jam Session"/>
</a>

Phil is the actual musician of the group, leading us on blues, country and rock songs.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8474926547_bbf8f0acc5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Myrtle Beach Classic Jam Session">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8474926547_2bab5f148b.jpg" alt="Myrtle Beach Classic Jam Session"/>
</a>

I know just enough guitar and music theory to follow Phil's chords and play up and down some scales in the right key.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8476009298_ed87547a29_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Myrtle Beach Classic Jam Session">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8476009298_63fa832354_m.jpg" alt="Myrtle Beach Classic Jam Session"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8474921693_6901c23a29_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Myrtle Beach Classic Jam Session">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8474921693_1fff670247_m.jpg" alt="Myrtle Beach Classic Jam Session"/>
</a>

Paul, Al and Dennis play some pretty mean blues harmonica, and Dennis even plays the bizarre Jew's harp, one of the oldest instruments in the world.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8474928461_93fd50e457_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Myrtle Beach Classic Still Life">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8474928461_1e1dbd3246.jpg" alt="Myrtle Beach Classic Still Life"/>
</a>

We even play chess. I played a match against Steve Hemphill, who claimed to not really know the game very well, "accidentally" moving his pawn illegally on his second move. This led me to let my guard down a bit and he ended up going ahead by several pieces, not falling for some traps a real amateur would have. I managed to hold him off until we just had kings and pawns, and apparently he didn't know that pawns could be turned into other pieces – "Like in checkers?" he asked – and I got a queen and won.

Now, on to the golf!

We played all four days at the [Legends Golf & Resort](http://www.legendsgolf.com/). On the Thursday practice round, we played the Moorland course, but we played it from the White tees, and it was very long and difficult. Many of the par fours were unreachable and our scores were very high. I did so poorly (a 25-over, 97), in fact, that it boosted my handicap for the final three days from 15 up to 17. We played from the Green tees for the rest of the tournament.

Although it often didn't feel like it, I played quite well the next two days, leading the pack both days. And then came…

### The Final Round - Championship Flight Showdown

On Myrtle Beach Sunday, I was leading the Championship flight. I was two ahead of Jeff and four ahead of Keith and Steve. Jeff and I both had the same idea, to go ahead and award Jeff his four stroke handicap difference over me, putting him two strokes ahead even up. Keith was seven behind me, and Steve would have to make up eleven strokes to overtake me. When Keith three putt most of the holes on the front nine, and Steve lost a ball or two, it became clear that the Championship flight was a two man race.

After I parred the first hole to Jeff's double bogey, we were tied.

After the front nine, we were tied.

That's when Jeff really started playing well, making par to my bogeys.

With five to go, he was ahead by one stroke. With four to go, he was ahead by two strokes. With three to go, he was ahead by three strokes. With two to go, he was ahead by four strokes!

[![Moorland #17 par 3](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8189672897_6950153a53.jpg)](http://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/8189672897/ "Moorland #17 par 3 by tewiespix, on Flickr")

On the 17th tee, I said to him, "I've got you right where I want you." The 17th at Moorland is a par three with a waste area carry and a bunker around to the left of the green. I hit my seven iron, plenty of club to clear the nasty stuff, but it drew a little bit, landing pin high on the left fringe and, much to my dismay, rolled left and down into the trap. It wasn't looking good for team Erik. Jeff teed off next, and his high eight iron did exactly what mine had done, ending up two feet from my ball in the bunker.

Jeff was slightly away and said he could manage a stance without stepping on my ball, so he went first. He caught all ball and his ball sailed over the green and towards the forest waste area on the opposite side of the green, pushed on by Jeff's rhyming ejaculation involving water fowl. Steve and Keith went immediately to look for Jeff's ball, and Jeff climbed out of the bunker to look too, leaving me all alone in the sand, watched only by The Committee – a loving nickname we give to my father, who organizes and referees the tournament every year – waiting back on the tee.

Terrified that I might repeat Jeff's mistake, an error every golfer knows the horror of (I had done it on the previous hole, even), I caught a little too much sand, and the ball went up to where it had originally landed on the fringe and rolled back down into the trap. Grrr!! I really needed that par!

My second attempt was much better. The ball flew just over the hole, landing about five feet away and rolling to about six feet. It came to a stop and, to my amazement, started rolling back towards the hole. I waved frantically at it, with "Come on back, baby!" coaxing. It finally stopped about 15 inches from the cup.

As I finished raking, Jeff came back with news of a lost ball – stroke and distance – which I knew from his gait before he told me. He saw my ball next to the flag and groaned. "It took me two to get out," I confessed. I marked my ball and Jeff dropped his back in the bunker; he was now lying three.

He did the same thing I did the first time, just barely not getting out. Now he's lying four. His third bunker shot was a lot better, but didn't get the lucky roll on the green that mine had. Lying five. His first putt stopped two feet from the hole, and, still flustered from the lost ball, he missed the second one, three putting for an eight. I sunk my short putt for the bogey four.

_**Boom!**_ All tied up on the 18th tee.

I had checked the card a few holes back and knew that if we tied, I would win the scorecard playoff with my par on the first hole. It was an historic Myrtle Beach Classic moment, sports drama worthy of a Hollywood movie...or at least a blog post.

[![Moorland #18 from tee](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8190755186_1b54164b14.jpg)](http://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/8190755186/ "Moorland #18 from tee by tewiespix, on Flickr")

The 18th at Moorland is a daunting dogleg left, with water all down the left side, which you have to drive over, but the hard part is knowing how far left to aim over the water. It's really a lot like the 18th at Pebble Beach in that regard.

Having both parred the 17th, Steve and Keith teed off first, landing safely in the fairway. My drive joined them. Jeff, still hot from losing his four stroke lead, pull hooked his drive into the water. "Well, there you go," he said to me, conceding the match. "It's not over yet," I replied, knowing that he was only lying two up by the water, perfectly capable of getting on the green in four, possibly to make the bogey five, and there was still plenty of danger between my ball and the hole, but his shoulders sunk and he said, "Yeah, it is."

Of course the match wasn't really over until he dropped his ball and slammed it into the water again, now lying four and unable to reach the green. I groaned in empathy for my good friend. I wanted to win by sinking a twenty foot putt for birdie or par, not like this.

I used plenty of club for my approach and my ball rolled just off the back, but I was able to chip up to within three feet and sunk the par. With Jeff's nine, I won the Myrtle Beach Classic Championship flight by five strokes, becoming the only participant in the tournament's fifteen year history to win the title three times.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8475979394_dae16681cd_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Myrtle Beach Classic - Championship Flight - 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-15-myrtle-beach-classic-2013/8475979394_1d84961b4e.jpg" alt="Myrtle Beach Classic - Championship Flight - 2013"/>
</a>

Photos of Moorland holes provided courtesy of [S. Abramson](http://golfcourses.weebly.com/) - All rights reserved.


Myrtle Beach Classic 2013


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-14-transatlantic-movie-marathon-february-2013/8223653709_1c408e3a82_t.jpg" alt="American In Spain On A Plane" class="post-thumb"/>Since moving to a different continent from my family more than a decade ago, I have become quite an expert on how my body reacts to jet lag and being confined to an airline seat for 7-9 hours. The method that works best for me is to not even attempt sleep, but instead, especially now that most transatlantic jets have personal video monitors and video on demand, to sit and watch movies for the duration of the flight. This time I was traveling alone and had my full attention to give to the video monitor, and I managed to get through seven movies.

I have arranged them in order from worst to best according to my personal opinion.

### Lincoln

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KJVuqYkI2jQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[IMDB 7.8](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/) - The make-up job on Daniel Day-Lewis was stunning. He really looked _just_ like Abe. His voice was slightly higher pitch than I imagined from Abraham Lincoln, but by the end of the movie I got used to it. The main problem with this movie was that it was just incredibly boring. I understand that it's hard to make a film about an event where everyone already knows the outcome, but it _can_ be done. _Apollo 13_, for example, was a real nail-biter. Perhaps my expectations were unfairly high.

### The Bourne Legacy

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jSzy9qQ3mDE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[IMDB 6.7](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1194173/) - I didn't know that there was another Bourne movie. They are getting as formulaic as Dan Brown novels, but it was an enjoyable ride. Plus, I have a bit of a screen crush on Rachel Weisz.

### The Campaign

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/k7yC0iiK7a4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[IMDB 6.2](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790886/) - This is a typical of a high quality Will Ferrell movie. Silly and lighthearted, but with some interesting parodies of real politics. Zach Galifianakis was so good that I didn't even recognize him in the movie. Zach is from a town very close to my hometown and went to my university. I'm not a huge fan of his uncomfortable interview comedy – he reminds me too much of Tom Green…thank god that guy's no longer popular! – but he can clearly act.

### Arbitrage

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UmJSV9ePx7c?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[IMDB 6.7](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1764183/) - I remember seeing trailers for this a while back and making a mental note that I wanted to see it, but the mental note got misplaced. Richard Gere does the powerful billionaire businessman role perfectly, and he and Susan Sarandon have got to be some of the sexiest sexagenarians in Hollywood. Moment to moment, the movie was very unpredictable, especially since I'd forgotten the trailer.

### Life of Pi

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mZEZ35Fhvuc?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[IMDB 8.2](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454876/) - This movie requires the disbelief suspension of a fantasy story, which is normally not my forte, but I enjoyed it more than I probably would have if I'd seen the trailer and knew what to expect. The religious overtones seemed a bit superfluous. Managing the constant single-actor screen time of a castaway movie was hard enough for the Hollywood veteran Tom Hanks, so it's extremely impressive that this Suraj Sharma fellow managed it so well in his debut movie. The CGI for the tiger was very impressive.

### Safety Not Guaranteed

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/73jSnAs7mq8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[IMDB 7.1](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1862079/) - An enjoyable lighthearted adventure with interesting, flawed characters. I love the whole "weird people are awesome" subtext.

### Argo

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[IMDB 8.0](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024648/) - I was on the edge of my seat for the entire movie. I don't really recall 1980 that much, but it sure seems like they nailed the fashion and general styles of the period. I was vaguely aware of the Iranian hostage crisis, but the subset of the crisis that this movie is about was completely new to me.

As always, you are free – nay, _encouraged_ – to oppose my opinions in the comments.


Transatlantic Movie Marathon - February 2013


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-13-carnival-2013-preschool-clowns/8470745086_2f4f509c3c_t.jpg" alt="Carnival 2013" class="post-thumb"/>Due to Easter falling early this year, the annual local children's Carnival celebration fell during my annual February golf trip. I was quite disappointed, since I have very much enjoyed photographing the festival in [past](/2011/03/04/carnival-2011-in-colindres-angels-and-demons/) [years](/2012/02/17/carnival-2012-in-colindres-snow-white/). However, it has been raining pretty much nonstop for all of 2013, and the weather got particularly bad last Friday when they were scheduled to have their parade, so all the activity was kept indoors. There is some talk that they might try to do the parade later this week.  Much to my delight, Nora's teacher emailed me some photographs. I assumed she'd just email all the parents the same group photos, so I'll be honest and admit that when I saw the first one, I thought, "Hmm, I wonder who that little boy is. He must be from another class." I'm so used to her bangs and long blond hair that, when it was hidden underneath the hat, it took me a couple seconds to recognize my own beautiful daughter.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-13-carnival-2013-preschool-clowns/8470745086_700b4dcf5a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnival 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-13-carnival-2013-preschool-clowns/8470745086_2f4f509c3c_z.jpg" alt="Carnival 2013"/>
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My little seven of spades.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-13-carnival-2013-preschool-clowns/8469649251_9d4b686664_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnival 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-13-carnival-2013-preschool-clowns/8469649251_23974e5924.jpg" alt="Carnival 2013"/>
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I bet they could all fit in one car.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-13-carnival-2013-preschool-clowns/8470745278_2ded3ab42a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnival 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-13-carnival-2013-preschool-clowns/8470745278_f0ee31ee1e_z.jpg" alt="Carnival 2013"/>
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My little clown. It must have been pretty dark in there, judging by the dilation of her pupils.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-13-carnival-2013-preschool-clowns/8470742266_612e8e7f82_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnival 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-13-carnival-2013-preschool-clowns/8470742266_d7b7f6569a.jpg" alt="Carnival 2013"/>
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Nora and her classmates.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-13-carnival-2013-preschool-clowns/8470744370_01430159a8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnival 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-13-carnival-2013-preschool-clowns/8470744370_bfdd1c9455.jpg" alt="Carnival 2013"/>
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All the three, four and five year olds together, singing.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-13-carnival-2013-preschool-clowns/8469647485_39265304b4_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Carnival 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-13-carnival-2013-preschool-clowns/8469647485_dec8e72d7d_z.jpg" alt="Carnival 2013"/>
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Happy Carnival!


Carnival 2013 - Preschool Clowns


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-01-third-sonogram/8434827237_e9a209a655_t.jpg" alt="Feburary 2013 Sonogram" class="post-thumb"/>This morning we went to our appointment for the third sonogram of this pregnancy. While I was waiting on the curb for my wife to drive up and pick me up, one ambulance and four police cars sped by going towards where she was supposed to be coming from. She was five minutes late, and I started to get worried. Soon, though, she drove up and told me that she'd just driven by an accident and the motorcyclist was still lying on the ground with his helmet on. Yikes. I'm not sure if it's good or bad that we beat him to the hospital.  The obstetrician and her nurse that do the sonograms at our local hospital are seriously antisocial. It reminds me a bit of the nonchalance of consulate paper pushers or paramedics, where their work means _everything_ to you, but to them, you're just one more task in a day's work. We got no salutations, only a request for our little pregnancy booklet and a command to go behind the examination curtain.

During the exam, the doctor said almost nothing, but I was at least comforted to notice that she took all the measurements (cranium, femur, etc…) about four times to make sure they were correct. My wife mentioned that in the previous sonogram, it had been mentioned that there had a been a little too much "fluid on the brain" and asked if that had gotten better. The doctor examined the brain for a good minute and explained that it all looked fine. She then started to explain that, although "fluid on the brain" sounds bad, there should be _some_ fluid. My wife cut her off with an, "Oh sure, I know all about _lí­quido cefalorraquí­deo_." I love it when she does that. In day to day life, her formal veterinary training is hardly noticeable, and sometimes I can forget that she's more or less a doctor.

This was pretty much the least interesting sonogram I've ever attended, but I recorded some video over the doctor's shoulder, so I thought I'd share it, you know, for posterity (I'm talking to you, son!). One sensation I get from watching sonograms is just how _cramped_ it is inside a womb, having your arms and legs all bunched together all the time. Just thinking about it makes me want to stretch.

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Z71mqxKOF20?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

When we came out from behind the examining curtain, the nurse was seated at her desk, scrolling through a text file. After a few covert glances, I determined that she was reading a novel in PDF form. I don't blame her, as she has lapses of ten minutes to kill between dealing with appointments and things. In fact, I know a thing or two about sitting at a computer and giving the appearance of working, and she was doing an excellent job of it.

If only they could learn to be a little less robotic and actually pretend to give a damn about the humanity of the specimens they examine…

The important news is that, as we enter the third trimester, everything looks good. The little bugger weighs 1.1 kilos, or 2.43 lbs.


Third Sonogram


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-02-01-what-the-it-department-is-really-doing-with-your-laptop/8436157748_e351edec08_t.jpg" alt="What the IT departmnet is really doing with your laptop (thumbnail)" class="post-thumb"/>Have you ever left your computer in the shop or with your employer's IT department for them to fix? You can't help but wonder, why are they taking so long?

I've worked for several IT departments, and I've worked with some really nice, competent people, and some really cranky, incompetent people. Being a network administrator is a huge power rush. When I was 16, I was interning at a local government institution and had full administrator privileges across the entire network with hundreds of users. I could view people's screens or delete their files on a whim if I so chose. Luckily I was a benevolent deity.

After all my years of experience, I now present the secret that the IT department doesn't want you to know: **what they are really doing with your laptop**. 

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PAgFFXDWgO8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

She got this "computer" for Christmas. It speaks English, Spanish and Basque, and she's actually learned, or at least repeated successfully to my ear, quite a few Basque words.

At the end, she exhibits one of her current English speech problems, saying "Do you are done, now?" Instead of saying "Are you…", she usually says, "Do you are…"


8 posts from February, 2013