Monthly Archives: January 2006

Kerplunk Radio – Episode 4

I give you episode 4 of Kerplunk Radio! This episode features an independent artist by the name of Jonathon Coulton. His stuff is incredibly catchy, and the lyrics are very quirky. He's got a definite "They Might be Giants" influence. Word-of-warning, though: he does drop the F-bomb in one of the songs. Right-click the "download mp3" button and choose "save-as" to save the show to your computer before listening. Jonathan Coulton's web page can be found at http://www.jonathancoulton.com/. The following songs are featured on this episode of Kerplunk Radio:

1. Baby Got Back
4. DNA
2. Mandelbrot Set 6. A Laptop Like You
3. Skullcrusher Mountain

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Scenes from Space #20

This image was taken from Cape Canaveral in Florida at the launch of the New Horizons spacecraft last week. New Horizons is a fly-by mission to Pluto, and will take almost 10 years to get there. The craft is one of the fastest spaceships ever launched, and will reach the moon in only nine hours (astronauts typically took 3 days to reach the moon) and will pass Jupiter in early 2007. Even traveling that fast, New Horizons will not reach Pluto until 2015. Pluto is the only remaining planet that has never been visited by a spacecraft or photographed up close. The coolest thing about New Horizions, in my opinion? I did some work on this project. I was actually invited to the launch, but was unable to go.

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Scenes from Space #19

This image is composed of a montage of images taken by SOHO (the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory) over the 10 years that the satellite has been in orbit. While I personally was not involved with the mission, UNH does have an instrument flying on SOHO. SOHO has provided some very valuable scientific data during its lifetime, including providing detailed data about the Sun's internal structure, solar atmosphere, and solar wind. In addition, SOHO images have been used to discover over 1000 comets as they pass near the Sun.

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Play Date

Sean had a little friend over today. Her name is Elizabeth, and she is cute as a button. It's funny - he seems to have gotten over his stranger anxiety with adults, and even with older kids - but babies still freak him out. They were playing nice together, but if Elizabeth touched Sean at all, he would immediately start crying. Maybe pretty girls make him nervous, just like his daddy!


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How Quickly Time Flies…

A year ago today, a purple, bald-headed, wrinkly man affectionally known as "melonhead" was born. He came into the world six weeks before his time. Some say it was fate. Some say it was destiny. Some say Lori didn't follow the doctor's orders concerning bed-rest. But whatever the cause, a little bundle of happiness came forth to enrich our lives with joy. And poop. But mostly joy.

He was a quiet and introspective child, and spent most of his early months comtemplating this strange new world. And pooping. But mostly contemplating. Bald as a cue ball, and serious as an undertaker, we eagerly awaited a crack in his stony facade.

And then, the deluge. Once he had determined that we were acceptable stewards of his well-being, he graced us with the light of his smile. We were overjoyed. The poops became almost fun, if a smile could be stolen in the process. But alas, the poop-to-smile ratio was still mind-numbingly large.

Over the following months, he surprised us again and again with his ever-increasing array of skills. From sitting, to crawling, and then to standing - he was always ready to try new things before we were ready for him to change. As soon as we could adapt to some new ability, he would move on to the next step. In the baby-raising arms race, Sean was building his arsenal faster than we could keep pace.

As time has progressed, his personality has started to emerge. Lori and I have learned the ins and outs of his sense of humor, and have quite a few techniques in our bag of tricks that will score a guaranteed laugh. He has become very independent. He can play alone without getting bored, but also enjoys a bit of rough play with his daddy. He has inherited him mom's sense of goofiness and good humor. The two of them can get each other to laugh with only a look. Lori has been the cornerstone on which this family is founded, and has become the mom I had always hoped (and expected) her to be.

He also seems to have picked up an affinity for absurdity from his daddy - as nothing seems to crack him up more than the sillier aspects of the world around him. Just today, he had a bout of side-splitting laughter from the mere sight and sound of a goose. Admittedly, if I were seeing a goose for the first time, I would think that Mother Nature had played a pretty good joke as well.

We'd really like to thank everyone who has visited Sean, and those who haven't yet been able to - but have thought about him nonetheless. It has been tough to be away from all of you this past year, and to not have been able to share Sean with the people we care about. The number of times we have said "I wish so-and-so could see this!" can't even be counted. Wish us luck in the coming year!


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Sean’s Birthday Party

Sean's birthday party was today. We kept it small - only a few close friends. Lori's dad was also here. We all had a great time, and Sean got some great new baby bling. We gave him a big slice of cake, and for the first time ever, Sean managed to eat something without getting a single crumb on the floor. He just wasn't willing to give any of it up.



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Sean’s Got Balls!

Sean got an early birthday present today! Thanks Grammy and Grampy! As you can see, he loves it!



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You’ll Put Your Eye Out, Kid!

These pics have been a little delayed. I know it's been over a week since Christmas, but I've got new toys to play with and didn't feel like posting. :) So without further ado, here are the Christmas pics!

These first few pics were taken Christmas morning, as Lori and I got Sean's new things opened up so he could try them out. He really seemed to enjoy all his new toys. There wasn't a single toy that he was not interested in at some point. But I've got to say, Andi's gift took the prize. Even with no batteries in it, he played with that activity table all morning!


After everything was opened up, we all wound down a bit. Sean had breakfast in the living room (for the first time ever), so he could watch his new Curious Buddies DVD. The girls were pooped from all of the excitement - although Sadie kept an ear open for possible treats.

These last few pics were taken later on in the day. What a cute little outfit Santa brought!


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