
<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15212816728_74a5b94dd3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Ian Sits on Bollard">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15212816728_b81b99417d_t.jpg" alt="Ian Sits on Bollard"/>
</a>

The biggest news this month was the return of the offspring from their long summer vacation and the start of the school year. They came back less than a week before school started on September 11th. To ease the pain of summer vacation ending, the kids have only gone in the mornings so far in September, but in October they will start in the afternoons again, too. Nora was happy to go back to school. She's a preschool senior now, in what other cultures call kindergarten, even though she's with the same teacher she's had for the past two years. 

### Accent

Both children returned from the south with a southern Spanish accent. As a general rule, the way you <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15110922268_d7d27ae281_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hide and seek at the mall">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15110922268_e4eb22d914_m.jpg" alt="Hide and seek at the mall"/>
</a>

do a southern accent in Spain is to drop any 'S' from the end of a word. As you can imagine this can make plurals complicated. Masculine plurals are easy, _lo' coche'_ can only be _los coches_ (because the singular would be _el coche_), but feminine ones... _la' caja'_, on the other hand, needs more context. They even drop S's in the middle of words. It took me a few minutes into [_Ocho Apellidos Vascos_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfopzNHLp4o) to understand that the Andalucian men were talking about Basque women, _vascas_, and not cows, _vacas_. Ian's accent is especially adorable because whenever he wants to play hide-and-seek, he covers his eyes with his arm, puts his head against the wall, and "counts" _do' tre', do' tre'_ (two three, two three).

### Why did the kindergartener cross the road?

One of the biggest milestones with her return to school is that she has been able to go to school all by herself! She's 5.5 years old, remember. There is only one street to cross in front of our apartment building, which has very high foot traffic in the quarter hour before school starts. We've <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15182698566_8767a9d18d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="First Day of School - Preschool Senior Year - 2014-2015">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15182698566_570c427cbc_m.jpg" alt="First Day of School - Preschool Senior Year - 2014-2015"/>
</a>

been practicing for months, with her crossing the street by herself, looking both ways, before I cross after her. It's only a one-way street, but I've been stressing the "look both ways" part as a good general rule of thumb. She'll figure out the traffic patterns in due time.

This new skill has been very handy on the handful of days when Ian has been sick or generally had a bad night, because I don't have to wake him, dress him, feed him breakfast, and take him down to school with Nora. Most days we go with her, but a few days (like today) she's gone on her own, with me accompanying her only down to the sidewalk in front of our house. One day she went all the way from our apartment, alone in the elevator and to school. Unfortunately, that day, when I poked my head out the window to watch her go, I realized that it was pretty chilly and she'd left without her jacket, so I had to run after her, Ian bouncing on my hip, to give her the jacket. I didn't catch her en route, but found her waiting in line outside her school. It's definitely been a success, and we applaud her for it.

### Beach Bums

Early September is always the best weather we have all year. I've been to the beach a few times, but my wife and the kids have been many, many more times, another benefit to only having school in the mornings. Ian has gone from being pretty freaked out by the waves to being relatively dauntless, although he's never been more than navel deep. He does love digging in the sand, though. Nora, ever the lady, pretends to bake cakes and pastries with her sand formations.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15399105772_53012c1989_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Beach Bum">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15399105772_9e5005d0c9.jpg" alt="Beach Bum"/>
</a>

Sandy bottom boy.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15376401386_8db0a1a341_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Beach Bum">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15376401386_05c774cf16_z.jpg" alt="Beach Bum"/>
</a>

He does this a lot, as if he's performing some sort of worship ritual. What follows, however, is just him slamming his hands down into the sand, enjoying its "Hey, I can hit this and it doesn't hurt that much!" properties.

### Valence Bond

Our month was finished with a trip in an airplane to Valencia to attend the wedding on José Ramón and Raquel; the groom grew up in the house next to our summer family place down in Extremadura and has been friends with my wife and her sister since childhood. The flight didn't go entirely smoothly, but we survived. Both Ian and Nora had fun in the hotel and exploring the streets of Valencia, as well as at the wedding, although Nora was the only kid of her age that refused to sit at the children's table. There were so many kids at the wedding that the bride and groom had contracted a daycare service that came with toys and face paints and things to entertain the kids. What a clever idea!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15212962287_b68a751d07_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ian in hotel lobby">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15212962287_d42201d10f.jpg" alt="Ian in hotel lobby"/>
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The hotel had this nagging granny statue, which Ian posed for naturally.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15212874578_bb40397990_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ian in the rain">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15212874578_c8fc3607e1.jpg" alt="Ian in the rain"/>
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Apparently it rarely rains in Valencia, but it did the weekend we went.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15212963067_821d9dee80_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora at hotel pool">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15212963067_43bf4a514d.jpg" alt="Nora at hotel pool"/>
</a>

Nice view from the rooftop hotel pool, but it was too cold and we didn't have any time to waste.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15399470855_0cd041c5bb_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora with Paella">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15399470855_715253e8cd_z.jpg" alt="Nora with Paella"/>
</a>

Of course we had to have paella in Valencia. This particular one wasn't that good, unfortunately.

### Videos

Photos don't really do justice to just how adorable these little tykes are. I don't have any siblings, but from what I've heard, these two seem to get along a lot better than normal.

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qkIxaeM6fh4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Playing in the church brickyard. Spaniards don't learn to play ball on grass. Nora had better enjoy her year of having superior ball handling skills, because Ian's going to overtake her in no time.

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/efkxi8zUIJU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I'm pretty sure Nora was at least 2.5 before she could do this stuff. At the beginning, you can hear him say "_¡Do' tre'!_" before sliding down the slide, as his Spanish grandfather usually counts to three before picking him up or launching any sort of activity.

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/LigoJVZQ7g4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Of course they are very comfortable bar hopping. They normally share a grape juice at about 60% of the bars visited.

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/iWohZisR3JU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Nora got her first experience with a sparkler at the wedding. Fun!

The state of the offspring is strong!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15399607725_ff0e1d8438_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Siblings hand in hand">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2014/15399607725_2880c37e48.jpg" alt="Siblings hand in hand"/>
</a>


State of the Offspring Address - September 2014


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-28-the-fourth-mask-parenting-airline-travel-tip/15196892047_e42173affb_t.jpg" alt="Airline Family Selfie" class="post-thumb"/>This weekend my family and I took a one hour flight to the other side of the peninsula. It served as sort of a dry run for next weekend when we will fly ten times further. My 17-month-old son is still allowed to ride on a parent's lap, and doesn't yet require his own seat, which is great, especially for our transatlantic hop, where the prices are non-trivial.

For those of you that have never had the pleasure of flying with another human on top of you, the airline provides a little baby belt that has a loop in it to put the adult's seatbelt through so your offspring isn't offsprung during extreme turbulence. ![Airline Family Selfie](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-28-the-fourth-mask-parenting-airline-travel-tip/15196892047_e42173affb.jpg "Airline Family Selfie")

### No Pressure

So there we are listening to the standard safety spiel and they get to the only part that mentions children, about how, in the supposedly rare, but terrifying, chance of a loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will descend down from heaven upon you, and, for the love of everything holy, do _NOT_ put your child's mask on before your own. I'd like to think that many a hero dad has passed out while trying to get the strap around his daughter's ponytail, resulting in two deaths by asphyxiation rather than just the kid dying, which, as a parent...let me tell you...if your kid dies because you were putting on your own mask first, doesn't sound much better than the hero dad's ponytail-of-death fate.

You may have already guessed what station this train of thought is approaching...

Sitting there with my angelic spawn who, as far as you know, were totally not raising and lowering the tray table and kicking the seats in front of them, it occurred to me... **_THERE ARE ONLY THREE MASKS!!_** The whole _Lord Of The Flies_, every woman for herself, survival of the fittest, zero sum game sort of breaks down when you're competing against your very own gene sacks. In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, we'd have to decide "Who among us doesn't get to breath?" It was about then that I began running nearby elderly passengers through hypothetical "I bet I could knock that person down in a chaotic situation and get his mask" thought experiments.

### Parenting Travel Pro-Tip:

Just as you should take a moment to identify the nearest emergency exit, if you are traveling with a baby on your lap, you should also take a moment to identify the nearest weak old person whom you may need to sacrifice to save your own family. Lights will _not_ direct you to the nearest old person. Keep in mind that the nearest old person may be behind you.

In case you missed it, this post was mostly tongue-in-cheek. Apparently [there are usually four oxygen masks per three-seat row](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_oxygen_system). Good luck traveling with twins, though!


The Fourth Mask: Parenting Airline Travel Tip


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-11-what-size-to-buy-printable-iphone-6-pdfs/15023060150_04b8a70516_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Printable iPhone 6 Models - iPhone 6 Plus">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-11-what-size-to-buy-printable-iphone-6-pdfs/15023060150_7d73d3fe35_t.jpg" alt="Printable iPhone 6 Models - iPhone 6 Plus"/>
</a>

One problem with the latest iPhone models, 6 and 6 Plus, is that they are completely new sizes, so it's not at all obvious which one you should get until you actually hold them both in your hand – and even then it'll be a tough decision with trade-offs to consider. I looked around and found lots of sites drawing them relative to previous models to give an idea of how big they are, but that's not the same as holding one. So I created a PDF document with each model more or less – they aren't millimeter-exact – "life sized". 

[Download A4 PDF](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5100577/a4.pdf)

[Download 8.5" x 11" PDF](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5100577/8.5x11.pdf)

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-11-what-size-to-buy-printable-iphone-6-pdfs/15186711426_d7f2221cd0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Printable iPhone 6 Models">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-11-what-size-to-buy-printable-iphone-6-pdfs/15186711426_0b12f0ee04.jpg" alt="Printable iPhone 6 Models"/>
</a>

Here they are next to my iPhone 4. I'm due for a huge upgrade as I skipped the 4s, 5 and 5s!

I contemplated cutting out some cardboard, but I stopped short. I did find a drink coaster that is roughly the width of the 6 Plus and it fits just fine into my pocket.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-11-what-size-to-buy-printable-iphone-6-pdfs/15023165877_9038b4b608_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Printable iPhone 6 Models">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-11-what-size-to-buy-printable-iphone-6-pdfs/15023165877_1be81457dd.jpg" alt="Printable iPhone 6 Models"/>
</a>

iPhone 6, in hand. You can't really tell from these two images, but the sizes vary noticeably.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-11-what-size-to-buy-printable-iphone-6-pdfs/15023060150_04b8a70516_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Printable iPhone 6 Models - iPhone 6 Plus">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-11-what-size-to-buy-printable-iphone-6-pdfs/15023060150_7d73d3fe35.jpg" alt="Printable iPhone 6 Models - iPhone 6 Plus"/>
</a>

iPhone 6 Plus. It's obvious that there will be issues getting that thumb all the way around to the far side of the touch screen.

So... What size will _you_ buy?


What Size To Buy? Printable iPhone 6 PDFs


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011135538_e3d3cd3f9a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011135538_9448cca07e_t.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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This past weekend we went to the annual festival in Ampuero. The best way to describe it is that it's a mini-_San-Fermín_, the enormous annual festival in Pamplona known worldwide for its _encierro_ (running of the bulls). _San Fermín_ is seven days long, and the festival in Ampuero is only three days, but they do have a running of the bulls and they do party for all 72 hours for those three days. There is also a well respected dress code of wearing all white with a red scarf and optional other red accessories. The Ampuero festival is perhaps slightly more kid-friendly than the one in Pamplona. It's also not as overrun by foreign tourists, which might make it closer to the _San Fermín_ that Hemingway fell in love with. It might [make a good destination](http://www.thomson.co.uk/) for some cheap holidays in Spain. We had a great time, going out until the wee hours on Friday and Saturday night, and then going to the bull run on Sunday.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15194639281_6110f09c0f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15194639281_1cf56d202c.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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The main town square was packed during the night and empty during the day because no one could stand to be out in the hot sun.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011106298_0d28b8094d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011106298_911ed04880.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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Out with some friends.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15194636791_52fd2f93ae_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15194636791_09ec2e69ac.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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After dinner of some enormous sandwiches, our friends took us to a bar called _La Florida_ and told us try the homemade liqueur that they make and serve only in that bar. They serve them in actual glasses during the rest of the year, but plastic during the festival. It was very good, a bit like [Patxaran](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patxaran), but smoother. Worth taking the time to sip rather than take like a shot.

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/eqhIIDkR96Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Good clean drunken fun.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15174645456_688bc97493_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15174645456_dfe6fdbafb.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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Waiting for the bull run to begin. I took this selfie for a response to a text message from a friend asking if we were going to Ampuero that day.

For those of you unfamiliar with the logistics of a bull run, they use a very clever system of fireworks to make sure that everyone in the area near the bull run knows the status of the bulls. At the scheduled time – 8:00am in Pamplona, 12:00pm in Ampuero – they fire off one firework and release the bulls. The second firework lets you know that the bulls have left the corral where they were released into and are now on the streets. The third tells you that they have entered the bull ring, and the fourth means that they have been ushered into the pen inside the bull ring and it's now safe to be in the bull ring. In Ampuero, I think they have one more because in Ampuero the bulls leave from the bull ring, run through the street to a dead end, turn around, and then run back. So I think there's a firework to tell you when they've reached the end and turned back around.

Here is a pretty good view of one of the bull runs this year. If you've seen video from Pamplona, you'll notice how many fewer runners there are – so it's a lot safer – and you can see how they turn around at the end. Not all of the running bovines are bulls, most of them are cows that are easier to control and give the bulls some companionship and someone to follow. Generally, but not always, you can tell the difference because the bulls are often black. But be careful, red (brown) bulls are known to be more ferocious.

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/h9Hwq5uSlyI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

See all the people standing up on the barriers, as well as people looking from underneath? The day I went to the bull run, I got there at the last minute so I had to shoot my photos from underneath the barrier, which was dangerous, because the people clinging to the gate to see over it could easily have stepped, jumped, or fallen down upon me.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011010320_87d956a5d0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011010320_83a8dd8a29.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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You can see what little ledge is supporting the people above me.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011100777_18ecce3ba0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011100777_89257b3404.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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By complete chance – I had no idea she was there – I managed to capture my daughter's preschool teacher, Viky, right between the bull's horns.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011009730_a42efd7768_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011009730_9cab655833.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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You've gotta have connections to get a vantage point like that!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011103237_56fc283bd1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011103237_9ecf641322.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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"Hola, Viky!"

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15010891279_f93932ed4e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15010891279_fd91b8eb7c.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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My children, wife and in-laws, dressed for the party.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15010889839_0961524849_z.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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This is the street that the bulls were running down, just ten minutes earlier.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011108597_f152bdb009.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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We stopped for some _rabas_, the local fried calamari specialty.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15197680635_038352ef09.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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Even Ian liked them.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011018280_afb354c394.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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Spanish festivals like this usually have these little marching bands, called _charangas_, that walk around playing danceable music to liven up the party. Often they are from other towns and travel to parties most weekends. The band members are clearly having the most fun of anyone there.

Here's a video to give you an idea of the music.

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/PFSAhI7tiO0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

As in all amateur social dancing situations, it's important to not take oneself too seriously. Beer helps.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15197316162_ef98cc6b49_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15197316162_1a1b6f01aa.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
</a>

It was very important to find shade, and stay hydrated, on Sunday afternoon.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15010899019_e4747b442a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15010899019_1e7a516f37_z.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
</a>

Too much excitement for some.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15174666206_1ede865d35_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15174666206_7090408372.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
</a>

See how no one is in the sun? There's that _La Florida_ bar I mentioned earlier.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011128047_2eac9c6e80_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ampuero 2014">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-10-ampuero-2014/15011128047_60fda54a74.jpg" alt="Ampuero 2014"/>
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On the way back to the car, we stopped to enjoy this bull running statue that adorns one of the town's main roundabouts. It's about as close to actually running with the bulls as I'd like to get.

We had a fantastic time and are already looking forward to going back next year.


Ampuero 2014


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-03-a-friend-finder-app-that-respects-privacy/14941469997_c9ce85538c_t.jpg" alt="Anybody here?" class="post-thumb"/>Ever since smart phones became endowed with GPS, the apps that attempt to show you where your friends are have become as ubiquitous as the horrified privacy backlash against them. I cannot claim to have ever really used such apps because I live in a rural community, most of my best friends are sprinkled sparsely across the globe, and the friends that I do meet up with are either not that tech savvy, use a different smart phone OS, or have the more common sense about the privacy problems than geeky desire to test out what an app can do.  Recently, however, I traveled to a nearby city to take part in a festival that drew thousands of people from the surrounding area, and I was pretty sure that some of my friends, with whom I would totally spend the day with if we happened to run into each other amidst the throng, had probably also made separate plans to be there. Sure enough, the photos on social networks confirmed my suspicions. I suspect that most people have experienced that, "Oh, you were at that concert, too?" moment.

How could an app solve this? Most of the apps available today have a toggle switch where you switch the broadcasting of your location on or off, and hopefully you remember to switch it off. However, I think I've devised a solution to this problem which I will present to you now.

### How to find friends, and be found by friends, without broadcasting your location?

For the purposes of this discussion, let's pick a totally goofy name that sounds like a modern startup...let's call our app PingWhen.

The app uses methods similar to [Viber](https://www.viber.com) or [WhatsApp](http://www.whatsapp.com) to "just know" which of the people in your phone's contact list are also users of the app.

![PingWhen App Icon](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-03-a-friend-finder-app-that-respects-privacy/14941011588_4b1c537d05_m.jpg "PingWhen App Icon")Obviously, for this to be possible, each user is going to have to trust PingWhen, Inc. with the knowledge of where they (or really their phone) is at all times. This shouldn't really be that difficult, since both Apple and Google, as well as your mobile service provider, already have this information. If you're the kind of person that disables those default "anti-theft" measures, then obviously this app won't work for you, if you even have a smart phone.

When you open the app, you see a list of your friends that also have the app installed. Perhaps you can organize them into sublists if you wish. **You cannot see where any of them are.** When you are out and about and are wondering if any of your friends are nearby, you go to your list and select everyone you wouldn't mind meeting up with, select what "nearby" means by from a list of preset radii (perhaps it defaults to a mile?), and you send out a "ping".

The server looks up who is within your radius and sends each of them a push notification: "Susan is nearby and wants to know if you want to get together." Now, let's be clear on what does **_not_** happen:

- The user who sent the ping receives no feedback beyond "Ping sent successfully."
- The user who received the ping is not told where the sender is.
- The users who are outside the radius of the ping are not notified of anything.

When you receive a ping notification, you have several options; you can:

- Ignore.
- Temporarily mute pings from this person
- Permanently mute pings from this person.
- Call the ping sender.
- Message the ping sender.
- Share my location with the ping sender

If you chose to share you location with the ping sender, that sharing is only on for 30 minutes, long enough to find each other. The ping sender receives a "Dave is 600 yards away. \[see on map\]" notification and is given the option to share her location with the responder, also for a limited time.

![Anybody here?](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-03-a-friend-finder-app-that-respects-privacy/14941469997_c9ce85538c.jpg "Anybody here?")

### Privacy Maintained

As a passive user, you must specifically opt in to sharing your location with a specific person. You are never broadcasting your location willy-nilly to everybody. As an active user, only when you explicitly request to, does the fact that you are nearby – not your exact location – get broadcast, and then only to people near you, not to your friends on the other side of the country. Probably, the majority of the time, a ping will result in no one being notified at all.

It seems to me that this design solves a very real problem in a way that does not introduce even more new ones.

![Penguin Festival](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2014-09-03-a-friend-finder-app-that-respects-privacy/15127659492_3443921957.jpg "Penguin Festival")

If an existing app already does this, then good for them; let me know in the comments below. If you would like to implement this idea, go right ahead. While I probably could do it myself, the revenue model of the two main app stores, especially for an app in this problem space that seriously suffers from [Metcalf's Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalfe%27s_law) to get an app off the ground, does not make this idea worth my time or effort. If you do choose to implement this idea, a nod in the About screen of your app would be appreciated. You're even welcome to the terrible name I came up with, although, at the time of this writing, the .com and .co domain names are squatted.

I slapped the icon together in five minutes using artwork by [Christy Presler](http://thenounproject.com/term/penguin/26761/). The single penguin photo came from [Nick Russell](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nickrussill/365112807). The penguin festival photo is from [Liam Quinn](https://www.flickr.com/photos/liamq/5719368307).


5 posts from September, 2014