Archive for the ‘dd’ Category

Life is Good

Friday, April 9th, 2010

Hi everyone! I owe you some updates, but I wanted to put this out there. This came from “Oz’s” weekly mailings to her “clients”. Of course, I took the liberty of changing names as appropriate. Enjoy!

Life is good.

On my way home from work yesterday I stopped at C and D’s house. It was 6 o’clock and they were in the midst of dinner so they cordially invited me to join them. Spaghetti dinner with family is a thousand times better than leftovers alone. We had a lovely dinner and shared a few laughs.

After dinner DD had a couple things to show us. Soon it was time for me to leave. I was standing near the kitchen table and DD wanted “up” so I held her and continued talking to D and C. DD used her hands to turn my face towards the back door and pushed the back of my head towards the door. I knew she wanted me to walk to the area of the door. So I did.

She pointed to her coat and the door. She turned towards her mom and dad and softly said, “Bye, Mommy.” She wanted to go home with me. It warmed my heart and made me beam from ear to ear.

Her mom tried to hold her. Her dad tried to hold her. She just clung to me and kept saying, “Bye, Mommy” and “Bye, Daddy.”

Well, it didn’t take long to pack her bag and grab her baba (pillow) and blanket. Guess where she was going.

It was nearly 7 o’clock by the time we got home. We slipped into our pajamas and snuggled on the couch to watch the Muppets. DD doesn’t watch tv so it’s a special treat to go to Mama’s (her name for me) and watch “Muppies” as she calls them. We laughed and giggled and had so much fun. Bedtime stretched to a little after 8.

DD will get up soon with a big smile on her face. The smile she put on my face has been there for hours. And I’m sure it will last for hours more.

Yup, life is good.

And no matter what life brings, I’ll remember those little arms around my neck pushing me forward.

I love my little Zippie (DD’s new nickname).

Oz

I couldn’t agree more, Oz, Life is good.

p.s. – I have been trying to keep our Flickr updated, though I’m only a couple months behind there. Add me as a contact to get Zip’s pics.

The things we learn

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

My how time flies.  Why, just yesterday, it seemed like it was 戊子1, but I digress.

As dd grows, we’re finding that she’s not the only one who’s learning here.  Now granted, she has learned far more than we have over these past few months, such as:

  • How to eat solid foods like mashed potatoes, green beans, peas, apples, bananas, strawberries.
  • How to drink from a sippy cup (still a work in progress).
  • How to cross the living room floor via rolling and inching.  She’s almost ready to crawl.
  • How to giggle on command.
  • How to properly get and maintain mommy and daddy’s attention.
  • How to hack into an unpatched XP machine.

But in the same, mommy and daddy are right there with her, learning that:

  • There are truly not enough hours in the day.
  • dd sleeps very well for her age, but that doesn’t mean we’re not deprived. (UPDATE – Teething pain began in full force)
  • That bright green, blue, and red go really well with our decor of mostly earth tones. 
  • The terminal velocity for a falling toy, how often it needs to be returned to the dropping hand, and how many foreign objects can get stuck on said toy in that short trip.
  • What foods do what to her poop (still in progress).

I’m learning how to not be surprised by noises that come from within bags, boxes, and other carrying apparatuses.  It didn’t throw me off one bit Friday night when I grabbed the reusable Target bag and it sang “C is for Cookie” on the way out to the car. 

Mommy is learning how to make her own baby food.  Saturday night, we were up late boiling, peeling, mashing and packaging Bananas, Peas, Carrots and Peaches2. She has also made 2 sets of just awesome cookies.  Her latest batch, the macadamia nut cookies, just get better with each cookie. In fact, the last one I had Saturday was the best yet. And to think, LOD could’ve had that one.  ;)

Lastly, we’re both learning patience well beyond what we thought was possible. But I have to say the biggest thing we’ve learned is truly how cool it is to be a parent.  Its just awesome. 

  1. thank you, wiki – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Astrology#Table_of_the_sixty_year_calendar []
  2. Save those baby food containers (we used Gerber).  We filled at least 40 that night []

Twas the night before Christmas

Saturday, December 27th, 2008

I first wrote this on Christmas Eve. But then I lost access to the computer I wrote it on for a few days. So rather than post this back in time, I chose to post it tonight. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!


When I was a kid, I recall the highlight of Christmas was always the party Aunt Marrianne and Uncle Gene would throw. The food, the laughter, the stories and advice. Good times. Then, as the night would progress, the adults would start to point out the window in the living room, and direct our attention out there. Like clockwork, Rudolph’s nose would blink out in the distance. Cousin after cousin would start to plop down on the floor near the back door, and watch in amazement as Santa came closer.

Then the commotion would be directed to the front door with a boisterous “Ho Ho Ho” and a jingle of the bells. “SANTA!”, we would all cry, “You’re here!”.

Surrounded by children, he would make his way to the living room and pull up a chair. Like good children do, we would all line up and wait our turn to sit on his lap, tell him what we want, and get something else in return with the promise that he’ll talk it over with mommy & daddy. I’m still waiting on a few things, but I’m sure mom & dad told him not to bring the race car, motorcycle or hippo.

Oh, the memories of Christmas. Mom & Dad put so much into Christmas to make it a magical and wonderful time growing up. As the years progressed, I would remember the times around Christmas. The Grinch, Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, Alvin and the Chipmunks…

I would make a list and mom would get it through her channels to Santa. Then, Christmas morning, I would awake to find all the things that Santa could fit on his sleigh. Oh happy days.

As the years progressed, Christmas started to lose its magic. I grew older1. The wonder was replaced with “I’m too cool/old for Christmas”. The trees and presents get smaller, and the spirit shrunk.

I regained much of the spirit when c became a permanent part of my life. Some of the magic returned as well. And then we had dd. All of the sudden, the magic returned like a long lost boomerang. The spirit grew into a giant. I started to remember the things that you once found magical about Christmas. Its like Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Morning2: “It’s Christmas…”

With the technology we have today, Christmas has become enhanced. It has become a world of flash and pop. Crafty scripting, mixed with big budgets and world connectivity. For the adults, we have YouTube, where we can relive all of those wonderful movies and shows we grew up with. We can even watch some of them instantly, uninterrupted, if we’reNetFlix subscribers.

If you’re a hack like me, then you’ll find that Ed Skoudis’ Christmas Themed Pen-Testing Challenges are a hoot. And if you’re a geek and love history, be sure to check out Vint Cerf’s 1985 Request For Comments: RFC 968.

And for the kids, there’s the coolest thing ever: NORAD live tracking of Santa. An accidental tradition, started in 1955, continues to this day. You can even call 877-HI-SANTA to find out his location. How cool is that?

In our world of immersion and interactivity; full of holographic imagry, Dolby(tm) 7.1 audio, and LED lighting; I will never forget the magic of sitting on the floor watching Rudolph’s red nose dancing through the air.

I hope that dd’s memories of Christmas will rival those of our own. I hope that each Christmas will be more magical and wonderful to her than the Christmas before. I promise her now, that we will do everything in our power to make that happen, just as our parents did for us.

And so we end this post with one of my favorite Christmas songs. Every time I hear this song, I tear up.

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. May your Christmas be full of magic and wonder, and may you never be too “old” to enjoy it!

  1. We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing“ []
  2. I can’t seem to find this on youtube as a clip []

I have an amazing job

Saturday, December 27th, 2008

I’d like to brag for a moment, if I may. Professionally, I’m a computer security guy. I hold the CISSP and GSEC certificates, along with a couple other very specialized certs. I build very secure computers for very specific needs. I also deal with a handful of administrative and managerial tasks within the security organization, and still offer up my technical knowledge to those who ask for it. For once in my career, I work in a position that I take pride in, as well as feeling like what I do can make a difference.

Outside of my corporate job, I am a web developer and independent consultant. One of the local businesses relies entirely on my knowledge and expertise to make sure their IT infrastructure continues to operate as expected. And this year, I was invited to become a SANS Mentor, asked to host a community education event, and speak at one of the business luncheons regarding wireless security.

But all of this pales in comparison to my latest endeavor. The pay is less than expected, but the rewards are endless. As I sat here this morning, still trying to wipe the sleep out of my eyes and snot off my shoulder, I was rewarded once again. Watching some show on engineering drilling platforms in the Gulf, I listened to dd’s feint snore/snortle on my left shoulder as she slept. Rubbing her back and hearing her breathing patterns change. Realizing that I help create this little child of ours.

Yes, folks, I have an amazing job. I am a husband and a father. Everything else I’ve done and do pale in comparison.