Peter Gutmann slide show

We were happy to be invited again this year to award-winning photographer Peter Guttman's annual slide show, which chronicles his travels and photography over the past twelve months. I took Samuel for the first time.

The twist is that the slide show takes place in his small apartment. The photography is spectacular, and Peter provides running commentary while his wife Lori and son Chase provide music and sound effects. The show is so popular that it's been written up by the New York Times.





As to the social dynamic, I will only say that it's a good thing he's never invited a fire warden to the event. And for a fidgety guy like me, having to sit in one position for two hours without being able to move is kinda like flying from New York to Chicago in economy class in a middle seat between two 300-pound strangers.


But with really good in-flight entertainment.

Tucson girl

One of the victims of the shooting in Tucson yesterday was a nine-year-old girl.

Like Ethan, she was born in 2001. In fact, she was born on 9/11 and, according to her mom, "it lent a grace note of hope to that terrible day."

I felt the same way about 2001: it was a horrible time, a very stressful time for just about everyone, including us. But it was also one of the best years of my life, because we had this beautiful baby boy.

So I think about this poor little girl's family, and of course I think about Ethan.


Hug the ones you love, and feel blessed.

Dad, do you think homeless people would eat fruitcake?

Ethanism

"Is processed cheese made from a different kind of cow?"

Where NYC Christmas trees retire

Geocaching!

The big news this weekend is that Samuel found his first geocache. I read about geocaching at NYTimes.com about a month ago and shared the article with Samuel. Ever since then he's been anxious to try it.

You use a GPS app on your smartphone or iPad to locate hidden "caches" around the city (or world, wherever you happen to be). You start by going to geocaching.com and finding the coordinates to a geocache near you. We opted to search for one in Central Park near 100th Street. Then you simply follow the GPS coordinates until you're within a 30-foot radius, and start looking. There are one or two helpful clues for each one.

The "cache" is simply a small box containing a piece of paper with the names and dates of everyone who had previously found it, along with a small trinket. You're allowed to take the trinket if you replace it with something of similar value, which we did--a tiny ninja figure donated by Ethan.

So there you have it...yet another time-wasting location-based social media app designed to further isolate old people from society. Woo-hoo! Thumbs up!

5 worst jobs of 2011

5. Encyclopedia salesperson

4. Newspaper classified ad seller

3. Las Vegas realtor

2. Blockbuster clerk

1. Cast or crew of "Spider-Man" on Broadway