Thought not for the faint-of-heart, getting astonishing resolution from a digital camera is indeed possible. Check out what Max Lyons has done with some good photography and customized photo stitching software.
We have a buyer!
See the end of the Housing Update post for more details.
Naomi at 3 Weeks of Age
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Wild News from The Casa Del Menor Vida Nueva
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We just received this message from Eldon and Connie Tudor, the missionaries who operate the Children’s home which our church has helped build, and to which most of our summer missions trips have taken us:
Dear Praying Friends,
PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!
Last night the police here in Constitución brought us 6 Oaxaca (pronounced wah-ha-cuh) children because the mother has been murdered and the police think the father did it. We bedded them down on mats in the living room floor. This morning the police brought us 4 more children as they think the father of these children helped in the murder of the woman.
The body of the murdered woman had been (as it looks now) hanged, then taken over across the road and thrown in the garbage dump. She has been there for 3 to 4 days, and the coyotes and other animals have been eating on her. When the body was found, they thought it was a boy at first.
The children think their mother has gone back to a town to visit relatives.
This morning the first thing to do was to feed them, and next we are going to have to delouse them.
All that they are used to eating is chiles and tortillas; they range in age from 13 down to 3 years.
We are sending a picture of them. Since the police brought them here, we do not know if the Mexican
child welfare will help us or not. We do not know what is going to happen when they find out that their mother is dead. One 12-year-old boy and one of the older girls say they are married, but they have not been together yet, the parents arranged the marriage, as it is a custom of their Indian tribe.Right now, what we need the most is prayers!! We do not have enough beds, the children are all very dirty and need bathing, plus we are all concerned about getting the bugs
too!We will keep you posted, just PLEASE PRAY!!!!!!!!
Eldon and Connie
Believe It or Not, We Have Another Offer
Unfortunately, I do not have any details on the offer yet, as we missed the phone call from the realtor.
Another Offer, Another Home Inspection
Details are below in the Housing Update section. Note that at this time, we do not have a house picked out in New Hampshire, although there are sever
Not Enough Vitamin N*
This from Reuters (I’m duplicating the article below, because they don’t maintain links past a month or two.)
Today’s Toddlers Act Like Teens?
Thu November 6, 2003 07:47 AM ET
By Matthew Jones
LONDON (Reuters) – Kids today. They waste hours in front of the TV and get their parents to spend money on designer clothes and haircuts. And they're not even three years old!
A new survey in Britain says toddlers are increasingly leading a lifestyle once associated only with moody adolescents.
“Today’s toddlers act like little teenagers—they've been there, done it and got the T-shirt—but they miss out on good old-fashioned, imaginative fun,†said Karen Pasquali Jones, editor of Mother and Baby magazine, which commissioned the survey.
The survey showed that by age three, 42 percent of youngsters have a television in their own room and 50 percent have a CD player. The average toddler spends more than two hours a day watching TV.
Two thirds of mothers said they bought designer clothes for their toddlers, while 86 percent spent more on their child's clothes than they did on their own. More than a quarter of the little consumers “choose their own haircut.â€
Tots have sophisticated taste—61 percent will eat Italian food and 51 percent will eat Indian or Chinese food, though only three percent like sushi.
But parents of previous generations will not be surprised to learn that mothers still describe mealtimes as “nightmares,†with three-quarters of toddlers refusing to eat and over half opting to throw their food rather than swallow.
Three-quarters of mothers say their children’s behavior has affected their relationship with their partners and just under half declared it has “wrecked†their sex lives.
© Reuters 2003. All Rights Reserved.
*The term vitamin N, was, as far as I know, coined by Dr. James Dobson, the well-known conservative child psychologist. Children need to be told “no†on occasion.
The War of the Worlds—65 Years Ago
The War of the Worlds—65 Years Ago
On October 30, 1938, The Mercury Theatre on the Air, starring Orson Welles, presented a radio version of H.G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds. It became famous because many people (although not as many as the media later reported) heard only part of the broadcast, presented in the form of a breaking news story, and thought earth really was being invaded by Mars.
If you’d like to hear this historic broadcast (it’s also one of the best radio plays ever done, actually), you can stream via the link below.
Listen to The War of the Worlds broadcast (presented via streaming RealAudio).
The Spoiling Begins
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Okay, Nichelle is making me post this, to illustrate just how big a change having a daugher can make. Before Naomi, you wouldn’t catch me near “girl toys,†or clothing of any kind. Then, with Naomi on the way, something happened to my mental processes. First was the dress I bought in México. Then came the Barbie. I … I don’t know what has come over me, although co-worker Judy Hirsch told me this would happen.
The remaining issue is which of the geekwear t-shirts/creepers to purchase. I can’t decide amongst “Newbie,†“TCP/IP,†and “Geek in Training.†Which would you pick?
It May Be Time – 1:28 p.m.
We’re off to the hospital. Contractions are coming quite frequently.
It Was Indeed Time!
Nichelle’s contractions started around 11:00 a.m. She phoned me at noon, and said, “I think you’d better head home.†The contractions were already causing her to be in a lot of pain, so I headed out almost immediately. I ran in to the house (discovered our friends Phil Luchon and Shelby Sohmer were already there to help, Phil by watching the kids and Shelby by assisting Nichelle), checked the Naomi mailing list (a good thing—I had never switched it over from test mode to mail to the entire list), updated the BLOG, grabbed some food to take with me and all of Nichelle’s stuff, and headed off to the hospital, expecting the usual long process of labor and delivery.
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We arrived at the hospital at about 1:50 p.m. Nichelle’s contractions had increased in severity and frequency, and she was already dilated about 5 cm. She spent 10 minutes in a pre-labor room, before they moved her to the labor room.
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Things were moving very fast. So fast, in fact, that we weren’t sure a doctor would arrive in time—he almost didn’t—a paramedic was there as a backup. Nichelle’s contractions were so strong and frequent, that there was no way for her to get the epidural she’d planned on—this was going to go “natural,†an issue we managed to deflect. After I think only about 15 minutes of excruciating labor pain (I’ll let Nichelle describe with another time), Naomi joined the outside world. The doctor said, “Congratulations, you have a beautiful boy,†and then quickly corrected his statement.
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So, Naomi Nichelle (“NaNiâ€) Wilcox was with us on the outside, officially born at 3:02 p.m., but I later discovered the room clock was wrong, so it was really 2:55 p.m.
Naomi Nichelle (“NaNiâ€) Wilcox, future Geek goddess, weighed in at 7 pounds, 4.8 ounces, and measured 20 inches. We are thrilled to have our little girl. Friends and family visited. We ate birthday cake and relished the joy of being new parents. Nichelle and Naomi are both fine—no complictions or other problems. We’re all tired. Whew!