Another Law to Take Seriously

I know, late to the party. I've spent the entire technical revolution making fun of people wearing bluetooth headsets ("What's up Captain Kirk?!"), so I've sort of committed myself to not ever wearing them.

But it's now even more illegal than ever to talk on a cell phone in the car. And it's extra super illegal to read texts while driving.

So I'll be changing my voicemail greeting to reflect my new policy of not answering the phone while I'm driving. I promise I will call you back when I stop, though.

More Missing My Children

It's been a while since we've seen any new photos. So I went and found their BYU ID pictures.




Ha!

Soylent Green Isn't Just People; It's *YOU*.

"Ask a kid what Facebook is for and they'll answer 'it's there to help me make friends'. Facebook's boardroom isn't talking about how to make Johnny more friends. It's talking about how to monetize Johnny's social graph."

--Douglas Rushkoff,
speaking at the inaugural Hello Etsy conference in Berlin.

I don't consider myself a paranoid person. I've always felt like anyone who really wanted to spy on me was welcome to do so, it's not like I have anything interesting hidden away. But I still think it's important to understand the mechanics of the marketplace, and to help our kids be wise consumers (of both material and information).

So forewarned is forearmed, kids.

Beautiful Children

I love my kids. This is the most recent photo I have if them.

Actually, that's not exactly true. This is the most recent photo I have of them that *they* sent me. I received it as a texted photo the day they left for BYU, about five weeks ago.

Since then, we've seen photos of them taken by other people (thank you, others, your photography is awesome!). And we've managed to skype with them (taking a handful of snapshot while they fidgeted, blinked, and scratched their noses).

But we'd really like to see stuff from them, too. Maybe Max could get someone to snap a picture of him in his new Men's Chorus uniform?

The Law Debate

One down, maybe another dozen or two to go.

My daughter sent us a link for a $.99 download of one of the games we wanted to replace. It was kind of an obnoxious install, and I had to accept a membership to a club (which required I resign or else I'd get charged a monthly fee starting next month).

But hey, $1 games are awesome.

And it came with a few new features that were actually really cool.

Thanks kiddo!

NIH Vaccine Research Center Malaria Trial Update

Found out some cool things, and wanted to share details with a few folks who were curious about the program;

Call 1-866-833-5433 to participate in the trial. It doesn't have to be the Malaria trial, either, they have several open. General requirements are;

* you have to be age 45 or younger
* you need to be free of autoimmune disorders (psoriasis, crohns, lupus, etc)
* meet all the regular criteria for donating blood
* be available for regular follow-up appointments (blood draws are almost always a part of the follow-up)

But you need to not be skeeved out by the idea of being mosquito-bitten. I learned that the "trial" which will involve me getting bit by malaria-positive mosquitoes will require that five mosquitoes have a "full feeding". They put a glass compartment against my skin, avec mosquito, visually confirm that it feeds, then they examine the mosquito to confirm it got a full meal. If Señor Skeeter has failed to eat fully, then I will be bitten by another mosquito. And so on, until five full feedings have taken place.

I've been assured they will provide the anti-itch topical cream.

If you live near the DC area, need some extra cash, want to make the world a better place (and can stand the thought of deliberately letting mosquitoes feeding on you), give them a call.

And you get copies of all the cool blood work and the EKG they do while screening you. It was actually reassuring to see, for instance, that my kidney function was normal (since I had a screening blood draw two days after my Dad had a kidney stone surgically removed). It doesn't include a cholesterol screening (unfortunately), but hey, free tests. My hematocrit screened a little low, so the next time, I'm supposed to have red meat and green leafy vegetables before a blood draw. So hey, eating steak for science!

And swag! You get a pen, a little backpack, a mug. Most mornings, they have little sack lunches with a muffin and some orange juice for volunteers, too.

Seriously, the reason to do it is for the money (which is good) and the benefit to the world (which is incalculable).

The Bees Sneeze

I took this picture of a bush in our garden one day after work last week during a rare moment of sunshine. I was struck by the dozen bees I saw crawling around the blooms. You might need to click and zoom the picture to see them.

As soggy as it has been, it's nice to have a moment of clear sky and sun, even if that brings bees with it.