A Year to Live, A Year to Die

At the risk of appearing a little morbid, I wanted to draw your attention to a story that really touched my heart on the way into work this morning. A man, terminally ill with a malignant brain tumor, records an audio diary of most of his last year. Read about this as well as listen to excerpts from that diary and to his wife weighing-in on the life-changing experience, all very neatly brought together by Mary Beth Kirchner of NPR.

One Sick Little Boy

Poor little Dannichka isn't doing too well again. We think he's now suffering from conjunctivitis, however a doctor's appointment today should clarify this. It seems we are on a cycle of healthy-one-week and sick-the-next and all this since the little guy started at daycare. We were warned so this didn't come as a surprise - but taking care of a sick baby is certainly demanding (at least for me). I tip my hat to mommy who's ability to administer care without getting frustrated (innate as it may be), makes me look ... well, heartless. Don't worry, I'll skip on the runny-nose photos.

Night Flight to Watertown, WI

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Originally uploaded by Macknal.

On Wednesday, March 22, I was invited to join Kevin on a night flight to Watertown, Wisconsin. Departing from Waukegan at 5:15pm, we'd be at Watertown just after sunset. A steak-dinner that screamed value-for-money later and it was back in the air for the actual night flight back to Waukegan. Such a magical experience, flown by a chap who made it look so easy. Picking out airports in the dark is no simple task, as was picking out the information from radio-chatter that often sounded like noise to me. Seeing the Waukegan runways light up like a Christmas tree at the end as we approached to land was the ultimate; I'd often read about this in flying articles, but witnessing it for myself was something else. Thanks Kevin for a terrific evening!

Octomatics!

I vote for this, in addition to the adjusted work week thing I posted many moons ago (3 day weekend, 4 day work, anybody remember the link?).

what do you think: why do we have the decimal system in our western world? because of our 10 fingers? why do we have 7 days a week? why are 60 seconds 1 minute and 60 minutes 1 hour? why do we have 24 hours a day? and 31 or 30 days a month? do you think thats a really good solution? well, here is another one: ...welcome to octomatics!

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Dad & Son Bonding

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Originally uploaded by Macknal.

Here a recent pic of Dad & Son. I like this one, not only because Danny is sporting a terrific grin, but because of the slobber on my shoulder.

Heading Back Home

Well gosh darn it; another family visit has come to an end as my mom and her Bo, Keith, head off to O'Hare to catch their flight back to England. With any luck, they won't suffer a huge delay with the snow that seems to be moving in (although I don't see any from my perch at Monroe & Wacker). Looking forward to our next reunion in the Summer and hopeful that this might all take place in Spain. Dreaming of some quaint sea-side resort town on the Mediterannean.

Karl & Kate's Spot

My brother and his fiance, Katie, have just set up yet another blog. I'm putting this here more as a bookmark and a note to myself of this momentous occasion as I've been trying to get them to keep me in the loop for quite some time. Hopefully this will work out...

30Boxes

Looking for a good online calendar and too impatient (like I am) for Google to come out with their own? Head over to http://30boxes.com for a really neat calendar that supports your usual imports and exports as well as a useful API. That's my bit of marketing for the year. I'm sure only photos of Danny will follow - now, if only he wasn't so sick all the time.

The Gabe Dixon Band

Another little music gem in this blogger's opinion is "All Will Be Well" by The Gabe Dixon Band. You can find samples on the web if you look hard enough. Did any of you catch the Conviction pilot (briefly available as a free download from iTMS)? If so, you probably heard this song already.

Family & More Pics

So my mom arrived in town last Thursday for a short visit. Her boyfriend Keith joined her and we are enjoying getting to know the man. Unfortunately, I can't follow in my grandad's footsteps and put false teeth on the table to intimidate my mom's suiters. I don't have false teeth yet. What a terrific chap though and it sure is grand to see my mom looking so happy. They're taking a wee break from Chicago (I think Danny might have been too much for them) for a brief stint in San Diego with my uncle/her brother. Certainly wish we could be down there with them.

Follow the above link to check out the recent additions to our flickr sets. You might even see yourself there. One thing is for sure, you're bound to see some new ones of Danny there ;)

Spreading the Love Around

Talk about keeping it in the family. All three of us are on our very own courses of antibiotics. The good news though is that Danny is more like his normal self except that his appetite is not quite back to normal. Inna and I filled up on a single cup of chicken broth last night so I guess our appetites aren't quite normal either.