I last posted about Marshall enjoying his swing in June. It’s due for an update.
Tag: Marshall
Posts featuring Marshall
Windows 8 is great, but its learning curve isn’t
I like Windows 8, which I’ve been using now for more than a week.
It’s just like Windows 7, but with an improved Windows Explorer (albeit with a Ribbon-esque interface; you remember Ribbon, it’s how you suddenly no longer knew how to use Microsoft Office a few short years ago) and faster boot times.
My favorite thing about Windows 8 is that most of the tricks and techniques I’ve developed over the years from working with Windows still work. Want to switch to another open application? Tab + Alt still delivers. Want to do something technical in Windows Explorer? Right click still gives me a great context menu. Want to personalize nearly every aspect of the look of my machine? Better than ever, Windows 8 is bright and Personalization has never been easier.
And there’s this whole new Metro interface on top of it, too, with live tiles that remind me of Android widgets (and don’t refresh automatically that well, either.)
Some of the first apps for Metro include the People app, which allows me to track my friends’ activity across Facebook and Twitter and a few other services, allowing me to comment and engage without opening a browser. I love how I can lock this app to the left or right side of the screen so it only takes up a fifth of the screen, while I run other Windows 7-era programs in the rest of the space.
The mail app is cool too, yet no integration for Yahoo Mail yet. It seems as though for the consumer preview launch, Microsoft worked to make the services that had APIs work while skipping those that are more closed.
For years, Yahoo Mail has charged its users who wanted to connect it to Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird or other mail readers; now that one comes built into Windows 8, I wonder how fast that will change.
Seriously though; why am I still using Yahoo Mail?
Back to the subject of Windows 8 – I’ve read a lot of reviews that complain about how hard it is to use. And there is something to that. You’ll have to learn how to use the Windows key, something I’ve neglected to mess with since its widespread adoption on PC keyboards a few years ago because all it used to do was bring up the Start Menu that I never used anyway. Pressing it brings up the Metro UI. Pressing it and “C” at the same time reveals the “Charms” menu; revealing where you can usually dig into the settings of Windows or the app you’re using or quickly share something with someone somehow.
In Vista and later in Windows 7; I pinned all my most-used programs to the taskbar or the desktop. I kept all the programs organized in the Start Menu, but rarely did I need to use it.
Now, I can do the same thing in Windows 8, pinning frequently used programs to the taskbar, desktop and now the nifty Metro interface.
Windows 8 is great, and I think that if it is a success, every desktop PC and laptop will likely have a touch screen.
That is, if tablets don’t continue to take over the entire PC market.
If that continues to happen; Windows 8 will be a contender for the best tablet OS.
If you’re brave and you don’t mind waiting for the download/install process (2-3 hours), you can download the Windows 8 Release Preview from Microsoft’s website.
Obligatory baby photo:
Get down from there, cat! You are not a babysitter
I’ve added hundreds of new photos to my online albums, with special thanks to Annette for taking many of them.
Click on the photos below to see the albums or click on the link in the caption to order prints.
See photos | Order prints
See photos | Order prints
See photos | Order prints
See photos | Order prints
See photos | Order prints
See photos | Order prints
Annette Kovar, grandson photographer
Annette and Tina — Kim’s mom and sister — were our designated Saturday night babysitters and we got out on the town, for the first time since welcoming Marshall into our lives.
Annette brought her camera and let me copy all of the photos she’s taken of Marshall so far, and I’ve inserted my favorite shots in the appropriate photo album online.
Here’s some of my favorites:
According to the photos’ meta data, Annette’s new camera is a Canon PowerShot SX150 IS — she said she found it on sale at Office Depot — thus bringing her gear into the 21st century. (Sorry.)
It takes great photos, affirming my position that the next camera we buy will be a Canon — even if we’re still too hesitant to plunk down for a DSLR.
A boy and his hat
Every time I would change his diaper, Marshall would look up at a hat rack above it, and stare at his hat collection. So, I put one on him.
What other kind of hats does he need?
Two hands
I took this photo with my Google Nexus S while feeding Marshall.
His hand had rested on mine while he was eating.
The photo was taken a few days after my father told a story about a memory he has of me doing something similar.
It’s moments like this that remind me it’s worth it, and to slow down and enjoy it. All the wiser parents I run into every day tell me it all flies by too fast.
The photo was posted on 
Father’s Day and Marshall’s first month
Yesterday, Marshall celebrated his first full month in the outside world and Kim posted a photo to commemorate the occasion on Facebook.
Here’s the photo I took of him on June 18 after he had gone to sleep for the night (3~ hours).
Which means I have finished the Meet Marshall album, which marks his first month. I might upload more photos from other people (Kim) to it at a later date, but for the most part, what is in there is what I have from his first month. Except for the videos which I have taken but haven’t posted yet.
