Geek in Heels - Page 97

Apr 7, 2011 • In Art/Design, Geek

Geek Zodiac

I don’t put much stock in astrology or zodiacs, but I gotta give some cred to this geek zodiac, created by James Wright and designed by Josh Eckert. (Click to view large)

And because the fine print is a bit difficult to read:

† This is not to say that Ninja and Samurai are the same, only that they tend to appear around the same time and often in the same stories. And yes, Jedi Knight falls under this category (but depending on your reading, Han Solo would be either Pirate or Treasure Hunter).

* Also includes those who hunt the undead.

** “Desenrascanço (loosely translatable as “disentanglement”) is a Portuguese word used, in common language, to express an ability to solve a problem without having the knowledge or the adequate tools to do so, by use of imaginative resources or by applying knowledge to new situations.” – Wikipedia

According to it I am a spy and J would be a daikaiju. I wish I were a treasure hunter instead, because it looks the most fun out of the bunch.

Via Geek Tyrant.

Are Two Girls the Best?

People often ask us how many kids we plan on having, and our answer is: “It depends.”

J and I made a deal before we got married. J wants lots of kids. Like, enough for a full soccer team. (“But I’ll settle for a basketball team,” he says. 🙄 ) I was never sure if I wanted kids, but if I were to procreate I thought that two would be a nice number, the reason being that one would be too easy to spoil and three would be too much for me to handle.

So we compromised. Since I would be the primary caretaker of the kids, we would aim for two. But if they were the same sex, we will try for a third.

What if the third is the same gender as the first two? We’d still stop at three.

That being said, J — as the oldest male in his family’s generation — has pressure from his parents and his own Asian guy pride. “We need to have at least one boy,” he says. I roll my eyes at him. The notion that a male is needed to pass down the family line and name is outdated and pretty sexist, in my opinion (and believe me, I have pretty conservative views when it comes to male-female gender roles). I tell him that even if we end up with three girls, his brother or a cousin can have a boy and the family will have to be happy with that.

What brings up this numbers and genders talk? Well, apparently a new study shows that having two daughters will lead to the most harmonious and happy family life.

What’s particularly interesting about the study is that while two daughters may be the best, doubling that number to four daughters often leads to a whole lot of mess. In fact, parents of four daughters turned out to be the least happy with family life overall.

Here are the ‘best’ to ‘worst’ combinations of children:

Two girls
One boy and one girl
Two boys
Three girls
Three boys
Four boys
Two girls and one boy
Two boys and one girl
Three boys and one girl
Three girls and one boy
Two boys and two girls
Four girls

Innnnn-teresting! As my readers know, I come from a family of two girls. And although my sister and I didn’t exactly have the best relationship growing up (we usually just ignored each other), we’ve certainly grown a lot closer over the years. And whilst my family may have been through some difficult times, I would definitely say that my parents are generally very happy with their lives and — not to toot our own horns — their daughters.

My sister and I, before we were old enough to fight over toys and clothes

And, as I’ve mentioned before, my father has confessed to me that he longed for a son in those early years…but after having witnessed his two daughters grow up, he now says that he wouldn’t have traded it for anything. He says that his two girls have taught him to be more sensitive, generous, and a better man overall.

J, too, grew up with one younger sibling but he comes from a family of two boys. His parents certainly seem proud and happy with their sons, but my MIL has confided in me that she would have loved to have at least one girl. My in-laws have even described to me how last year, when my FIL was admitted to the hospital for a surgery, they noticed that the only visitors his neighbors received were their daughters. “And if a son happened to visit? You could tell that his wife had made him do it!” my FIL added.

Since J and I already have one daughter, I hope that our second would be a boy. Not only because I’m scared three children would be too much for me to handle, but because I get worried that if we have two girls then a boy, the boy would get too spoiled (the same would go for two boys then a girl). Besides, two girls and a boy ranks seventh on the list above.

But after reading this study, I am now more convinced that having just two girls would be totally fine too.

What are your feelings on the study? How would you say your own family life compares?

I would also like to see how only childs fit in the list.

How Men and Women See Colors

Sooooooo true!

Over the 8-year span of our relationship, I have trained myself to go the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) route when identifying colors to my other half.

And you can see how a possible trichromat as myself would find this extremely difficult.

Via HHjH.

The Broke-Ass Bride Needs Our Help

Do you know a fabulous blogger by the name of Dana LaRue? If not, you’re missing out on a whole lot of awesome.

Dana and I first met while blogging for Weddingbee. Her upbeat, can-do attitude is simply charismatic, and I was so happy to watch her start The Broke-Ass Bride which quickly turned into one of the premier wedding blogs on the ‘net.

Long-time readers may remember that two years ago, J and I went through an extremely difficult period when we lost our first baby just as I entered the second trimester. What made the loss even more bitter was that our insurance company refused to cover the costs of the surgery that I required from the miscarriage because they considered pregnancy a pre-existing condition, leaving us with a $8,000+ hospital bill.

The event now seems to have occurred aeons ago, but I still remember how supportive Dana was of the entire ordeal. She was especially sympathetic because she herself had been through medical insurance hell and back. And while I never got the chance to thank her in person for her advice and support, that gratitude never left my heart.

Now, Dana needs our help.

At age 19, Dana was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Uveitis. Basically, her immune system confuses her eyes for foreign objects and relentlessly attacks them, causing chronic inflammation, visual disturbances and blurriness. It is incurable and will cause blindness if left untreated.

She also has a very rare deep-tissue form of a disease called Granuloma Annulare, causing a different type of inflammation in her foot, for which she had surgery last year. It is so rare that she is unable to find a doctor who knows how to treat it moving forward.

Dana has had 11 surgeries in the past 9 years to control these diseases and their side effects.

And sadly, just last month her left eye came out of remission, she learned the devastating news that she will need a 12th surgery.

Dana’s surgeries and ongoing care (even with health insurance) have left piles of bills and medical debt, and she is now at a point where, without help, she cannot pay for her medical care.

Dana and her husband Hunter (aka The Fresh Hubby) have been encouraged by many to hold a fundraiser, but asking for money outright isn’t their style. As a result, they have launched a FUNraiser called Dishing for Dana:

The Plan:
♥ We’re compiling beloved comfort food recipes and the stories behind them from the most bad-ass bloggers and beyond… available in varying forms, in exchange for donations to my medical care.
♥ There are incentives for varying levels of donation, which you can learn about here.
♥ The recipes, photos and stories will be teased here on our Dishing for Dana blog, and once a donation is processed, a password to access the full recipes will be released to each donor.

The Goal:
♥ $13,000 to cover my current medical bills
♥ $6,032 to cover our health insurance premiums for the remainder of 2011
♥ $2,000 to donate to the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association toward helping others with autoimmune disease
For a total minimum of $22,000.

Note that this does not include the costs that will be related to my upcoming surger(ies) and ongoing care, nor for prescriptions or post-surgical supplies such as gauze and tape for my eye patch, or prescribed drugs to aid the healing process and protect from further inflammation and prevent infection, etc.

The Details:
♥ You can donate any amount you choose, no minimum, no rules. Because every quarter is a quarter more than we had yesterday. It all adds up.
♥ We will donate 10% of all proceeds up to our goal, to the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association, so every dollar contributed not only goes toward my medical care, but also toward researching a cure to benefit everyone with autoimmune disease.
♥ Anything raised in excess of the goal will be split 50/50 with the AARDA – our portion of which will be saved in a dedicated, interest-bearing account toward any future surgeries and ongoing medical care.

If you are able and willing to help by donating a recipe, $$$, or even your talents, please visit Dishing for Dana for more information!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Your support and generosity are greatly appreciated!

Baby Got Back for a Reason!

Redditor cbexton asks,

I like big butts and I cannot lie, but is there some evolutionary reason as to why?

Which gives rise to perhaps the greatest Reddit thread ever. Take a look at some of these hilarious responses:

When a girl walks in with an itty-bitty waist and a round thing in your face you get vital evolutionary information that acts as a fairly accurate indicator of overall health. And sprung. You also get sprung.

My anaconda don’t want none unless you have a high likelihood of producing healthy offspring with a minimal chance of genetic disabilities, hun.

So ladies (yeah!) ladies (yeah!) You wanna advertise fertility? (hell yeah!)

Then turn around, stick it out, even other women have to admit that you appear to have the necessary physical attributes to produce many healthy offspring.

Cause I’m long, and I’m strong, and I have a genetic impulse to pass my hereditary traits on.

I can keep going and going but I’ll stop here. 🙂 Go check out the entire thread if you’re in need of some laughter.

P.S. — Did you know that when Claire developed colic, my first successful attempt at calming her involved my playing “Baby Got Back” loudly, rapping and dancing along while bouncing her to the rhythm of the song?

Our Favorite Baby Items

I’ve been meaning to do this for quite some time now, and I’m happy to finally cross it off my to-do list!

I think that every mother has different products they consider “must-haves,” in addition to some on the “don’t bother” list. So I want to preface our lists by saying that every family — and every baby — is different, and while one product may work wonders for one family it may only collect dust at another household.

Now, on to the lists!

First up: our favorite specific items for Claire. In other words, our favorite items that we’ve found to be better than their competitors:

1. Amazon Mom. I have written about this amazing service before, and it’s quickly become my all-time favorite baby “product.” Not only does Amazon consistently have some of the best deals on the web, Amazon Mom makes it so darn easy. After just a couple of months into the program, I had accumulated enough “points” for a full year of Amazon Prime (which is free 2-day shipping) and I can use this benefit on any Amazon purchase — not just the baby ones. Additionally, with the combination of Amazon Mom and Amazon’s Subscribe & Save, we save 30% off diapers every time. In the long run, I have found this to be far cheaper than Diapers.com or even places like Costco/BJs. And with Subscribe & Save, I can choose to delay shipments or have one sent immediately, change the frequency, etc. and cancel anytime. Seriously. Amazon has been a lifesaver for this busy mom.

2. Bumbo Baby Seat. A popular favorite among mothers. I don’t think I need to say much more about this.

3. Nosefrida Nasal Aspirator. Another favorite item among mothers. Claire seems to have inherited J’s ever-stuffy, ever-running nose, so for the first few months of her life we used this every day. (Now we’re down to every 3 days.) That being said, for us the Nosefrida did not work well by itself. We always need to use saline drops in conjunction with the Nosefrida in to get all the boogers out.

4. Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush. Maybe it’s because we use Dr. Brown’s bottles, but I’ve tried practically every bottle brush out there and always find myself returning to these.

5. Mustela baby products. I’m pretty sensitive to smell, but I love the scent of Mustela items and people are always commenting about how great Claire smells. The two that I’ve included in the chart above are the 2 in 1 Hair & Body Shampoo and the PhysiObebe. The latter was a godsend in the beginning when we weren’t allowed to bathe Claire, then too scared to actually dunk her in water. We’ve used the 2 in 1 Shampoo ever since we started to regularly give her baths, and it’s worked great for us thus far.

6. Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit. I mentioned the Magic Sleepsuit in my sleep-training post, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to all new mothers. In the past couple of weeks we have actually transitioned Claire out of the Sleepsuit for her nighttime sleep, but we have found that she still needs it for her naps. We have two Sleepsuits now: one to use while the other’s in the wash.

7. UPPAbaby Vista Stroller. This is probably the most expensive baby item we own, and we’re very thankful that J’s parents offered to gift it to us. (That being said, we got 20% off the retail price by using a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon at BuyBuyBaby.) Some parents complain that it is too wide, too heavy and too unyielding but I have not found that to be the case at all. I love that I can fold it/expand it with one hand, and that I do not need to take apart anything in order to do so. We “test-drove” various strollers before deciding on the Vista, and found the Vista to have the best handling and maneuverability. I can easily move the stroller with one hand which I know will come in handy as the weather gets nicer and I start to take Comang on his long walks again. Additionally, we live in an urban area where the sidewalks are not in the best of condition and this stroller has handled everything just fine…it even endured 8″ snow! For the first few months we used the carseat adapter (sold separately) and just placed our Chicco Keyfit on the frame of the stroller, but now we’re actually starting to use the stroller seat more.

8. The First Year’s Infant to Toddler Tub with Sling. I know that the Puj Tub is a popular choice among many moms I know, but it wasn’t a choice for us because the only sink in our home that is deep enough is the kitchen sink, which is usually full. Additionally, all our faucets are really low which worried me that the baby would bonk her head on the cold hard steel. We decided on this tub instead solely based on its popularity and we’re completely happy with our choice. When Claire was younger we used the sling/net attachment and now that she has better control and balance we just let her recline on the molded seat. My little girl LOVES bathtime, and we give at least some of the credit to this tub.

9. Dr. Brown’s Bottles. I have written about how we came to choose Dr. Brown’s bottles. Once we switched from breastmilk to formula, we also traded the Dr. Brown’s Wide Neck bottles for the regular ones, and Claire made the transition just fine. As Claire got older and no longer suffered from gas pains, we tried other brands again…and I immediately noticed that tons of foam (ie, air) would gather inside the bottles as she drank from them. This is a problem that Dr. Brown’s claims to alleviate and it was clear to me that it was true. And while Claire didn’t seem to have much of a problem with the extra air in her bottle, it really bugged me and so we decided to stick with Dr. Brown’s. We still handwash all our bottles, so the extra two parts are not much of a pain for us.

10. Chicco DJ Baby Walker. My mother insisted on buying us a walker this past Christmas, and I’m so glad that she did. Claire loves, loves, LOVES this walker. She loves banging on the removable toy tray (which make music, sounds, and lights) and although she can’t quite “walk” in it yet she tippy-toes herself around with glee.

My next list is our favorite generic items for Claire. In other words, we love these products but another brand, or something similar would suit just fine:

1. Graco Sweet Slumber Sound Machine. As stated in my sleep-training post, many parents find sound machines to be an essential element to sleep. I personally did not like the Cloud b Sleep Sheep because it would turn off automatically, and this Graco one was the most popular baby sound machine on Amazon.

2. Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor. Before becoming a mother I thought that any baby monitor would do, and registered for a cheap, sound-only monitor. I am soooo glad that I changed my mind and decided to switch it out for this video monitor, because this is definitely one item that we use multiple times, every day. We had chosen this Summer Infant one because it was one of the cheapest and most reliable video monitors, but there are tons of video monitors on the market today, including those that can be hooked up so that the live feed can be viewed online. A friend even has one that can rotate, and zoom in/out with a remote control!

3. Fisher-Price ‘My Little Lamb’ Cradle Swing. J and I do not know how we could’ve survived those early months without a swing. What did parents do before baby swings were invented? Not only did a swing help calm our colicky baby, it was the only thing that she would sleep on for a couple of months! That being said, if I could do it all over again I would choose a swing with an AC adaptor (like the Fisher-Price Starlight Papasan Swing) because boy do swings gobble up expensive D batteries! And there have been a few times when the batteries died in the middle of the night and we didn’t have any replacements, forcing J to go out at 2am for fresh batteries.

4. Baby Einstein Neptune Ocean Adventure Gym. There are many activity mats/gyms out there and most babies will find them all pretty amusing. I had chosen this particular one because it had the best reviews on BRU, and it featured the brightest colors which I’ve read are the best for infant stimulation.

5. Crane Adorable Penguin Cool Mist Humidifier. Claire was born in autumn. Add that to the fact that our condo tends to be on the dry side, so a humidifier was a must. The one bad thing about this humidifier is that it collects calcium deposits like no other. Maybe it’s just our water?

6. Itzbeen Baby Care Timer. As brand new parents J and I used the handy Baby ESP Android app which was super useful in keeping track of how much and how often she ate, slept, peed, pooped, etc. It even had features for medicine, reminders, and charts…and we were able to share/sync it between our phones. But once we started to get the hang of things and became more comfortable with parenting, we began to use the Itzbeen timer instead for its simplicity.

7. Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe. Many parents will tell you that swaddling is essential to a calm, happy infant. At first, Claire HATED being swaddled…but when she turned 2 months old she began to take a liking to it. We personally did not like the Halo Sleepsack Swaddles because the zipper seemed to irritate her neck and chin. We also didn’t like the Miracle Blanket or the Aden + Anais Swaddle Wraps because they were more complicated than the Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe with its simple velcro system. But all of the swaddle wraps/blankets mentioned in this paragraph are ones loved by moms, and I would say that you should find one that works for you and stick with it!

What are your favorite baby items? Do you strongly agree or disagree with any of the products on our list?

Note: most of the products above are linked to Amazon via my Amazon Associates account, which means that if anyone chooses to purchase an item after clicking on the link, I will receive a small percentage of the item’s sale price. I have not been compensated in any other way for writing about these products.

The Pedestrian’s Guide to US Cities

I’ve been to every city on this chart with the exception of New Orleans…and I have to say that it’s true! Passerbys gawked at me in horror when I attempted to jaywalk in Seattle, DC crosswalks can get confusing, and my LA friends drive everywhere. Don’t even get me started on NY.

Via Bit Rebels.

P.S. — did you know that in Korea, cars — not pedestrians — have the right of way?

It’s April Already?

April may be a month known for its vast precipitation, but it has always been my favorite month of the year. It also doesn’t hurt that our wedding anniversary falls this month. 🙂

That being said, HELLO? Can we please get some sunshine and weather above 50 degrees? While my west coast friends have been bragging about all the good weather they’ve been having, we here on the east suffered even more SNOW this week.

I am so sick of this seemingly unending winter. I used to love cold weather and the snow, but the older I get, the more I crave warm, dry weather.

But yes. April. April Fools’ Day, as a matter of fact. Was it just me, or were the internet jokes this year kinda lame? Some were okay, but not nearly as great as ones from previous years.

Have you seen any good jokes? Care to share?

The best that I’ve seen today is ThinkGeek’s line of gag products. What they did isn’t new, but you gotta admit that some of these items look mighty awesome. I’m especially diggin’ the PLAYMOBIL(TM) Apple Store Play Set, Star Wars Lightsaber Popsicles, and the Angry Birds Pork Rinds.

Go vote for your favorite here. Who knows? Your product of choice may end up becoming real, just as the Canned Unicorn Meat did.

Angry Birds Solved

Or, this is what you get when you mix Angry Birds with The Muppets.

Via Cannot Unsee.

The Ultimate WordPress Cheat Sheet

I know I haven’t written anything in my WordPress for the Everyday Blogger series in a while, and for that I apologize. I promise I’ll get crackin’ on the next post soon!

To tide you over in the meantime, here’s a fantastic cheat sheet I saw over at Bit Rebels today. The WordPress Codex can be daunting for some — heck, I admit I have been overwhelmed quite a few times — and this looks to be the perfect one-look solution for any WordPress theme creator, modifier, or even a blogger. Enjoy!

Geek Zodiac

You may also like:

Are Two Girls the Best?

You may also like:

How Men and Women See Colors

You may also like:

The Broke-Ass Bride Needs Our Help

You may also like:

Baby Got Back for a Reason!

You may also like:

Our Favorite Baby Items

You may also like:

The Pedestrian’s Guide to US Cities

You may also like:

It’s April Already?

You may also like:

Angry Birds Solved

You may also like:

The Ultimate WordPress Cheat Sheet

You may also like:

Currently enjoying…

Navigation

Elsewhere

Recent Posts

Subscribe

Arkangel James Rollins	Revenge of the Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell
The White Lotus