My two-year-old's current Favorite Thing is the PBS television show Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, which is a latter-day spinoff of the excellent Mister Roger's Neighborhood. It's a cartoon about the eponymous Daniel Tiger (who was a puppet on Mister Roger's Neighborhood) and his family, where various small children/animals learn important lessons about sharing and whatnot; standard fare for TV aimed at a two-year-olds.

My son has been home sick¹ for the last week or so, so I've watched a lot of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, and there are some things that annoy and/or confuse me:

1. Why do Daniel and …

As far back as I can remember, I've enjoyed photography as a hobby. It's probably because my father's father was a journalist and he never went anywhere without his Leica around his neck — or maybe it's just because there's something magical at being able to hold the past in your hand and look at it whenever you want.

While it's absolutely true that your camera doesn't matter, I've just recently changed up my camera gear again, and I thought it might be fun to look back at some of the cameras I've used …

After more than two years of successfully dodging it, COVID-19 finally hit my family the week. On Tuesday my wife woke up with a migraine, which isn't unusual for her; on Wednesday morning, she woke up with a low (100.4°F fever) and we belatedly realized that she might be sick. She took an antigen test¹ and the TEST line turned blue basically instantly.

Shit.

Quarantine ensued. Isaac (our son) has been home from school² and we've all been cooped up on the property for the past few days.

So far, Isaac and I have continued to …

As you might recall, my son Isaac was born a couple of years ago. This was obviously an occasion for joy and family happiness (and an end to regular sleep) — but beyond that, it was the beginning of a capitalist glut, a massive influx of new Stuff. So, uh, I figured I'd write about that in case any of my readers ever have a kid and want to know about various baby support items.

In general, we had a few constraints:

• our house is relatively small (~1200sqft) and has little storage
• when we were making most of these decisions, my …

Hello hypothetical readers; sorry for my absence, but I've spent the last weeks pretty well busy – as I foreshadowed in May, I have a son now!

It's been quite an adjustment. Isaac was born on August 7, 2020 after a very long¹ labor, but he's happy and healthy now. I got 3 weeks off of work, which I spent with my wife doing intensive child care. Let me tell you, I have a whole new respect for single parents. Caring for an infant with just the two of us (since none of our families or friends can visit or …

PSA for folks in the Bay Area: The University of California Botanical Garden has re-opened for limited, outdoor-only visits. Seems like a nice (and reasonably) safe place to go during the pandemic. It's July, so not much is in bloom, but it's still beautiful.