Mac's Manor

Back in the Pool

2010-05-31T09:47:00.001-05:00

Danny & Inna
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

For some reason we couldn't quite understand, Danny has been afraid of the pool this past year limiting himself to the step and making sure he was far enough out of reach that we couldn't yank him into the water with us. This of course hampered our attempts to get him to learn to swim. Well gratefully yesterday he got over those fears and has been loving his ability to noodle swim his way around the pool. Hopefully we'll have him swimming unaided by the time Labor Day rolls around.

Is it May already?

2010-05-08T16:22:00.003-05:00

Oh my word. I cannot believe we are in May already! Where are the long dragging days of yesteryear? All the plans to take pictures of our 2010 have been spoiled by the realities and routines of every day life; with a few laughs here and and a couple of tears there.

To break the monotony of it all, the three of us are gearing up for a week away in Curacao in June. Just at the right time to celebrate both mom's and son's birthdays. It seems all we want to do is really sit on the beach in the sun with a cocktail chilling under the shade of its umbrella.

2010, here we come...

2010-01-24T09:45:00.002-06:00

Time never ceases to amaze me. Particularly my perception of it. It's picking up such a frenzied pace that I don't know if I can keep up anymore. My lack of activity on this blog is a testament to that. In an effort to make amends I have uploaded a boat load of pictures from the later half of last year. You may have already seen some of the photos of our European vacation, but now you can also see some from Tania and Steve's wedding. There was the small family fishing trip; just an overcast afternoon in late Spring. A little belated walk through a forest preserve to take in the Fall colors. Putting up the Christmas tree, our first sledding experience and finally our trip to Puerto Rico. Phew! Now we wait to see what 2010 brings...

First Sledding Ever

2009-12-16T09:03:00.002-06:00

DSCN2480
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

This past weekend we ventured up to the Lakewood Forest Preserve (near Wauconda) for some sledding. Can you believe it, I've been in Chicago for twelve years and I haven't gone sledding before. So for Danny and I it was our first time ever. Inna though is old hat at this.

Normandy

2009-09-26T12:46:00.001-05:00

Mont Saint-Michel with Family
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

As our vacation approaches it's close we meet up with my mom and step-dad to see a little of Normandy. Photos from our trip are up on flickr.

Venice & Paris Pics

2009-09-16T12:58:00.001-05:00

Tour Eiffel
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

Pics of our stopover in Venice and our stay in Paris have been uploaded.

Florence

2009-09-14T19:22:00.001-05:00

On Ponte Vecchio
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

Uploaded the pics from our stopover in Florence.

Back To Work

2009-08-23T20:35:00.001-05:00

It is back to work for me tomorrow after a couple months disability leave. I'm excited to get back into the driver's seat after the time away. Hopefully the adjustment back into coding will be quick.

Rome

2009-08-23T12:49:00.001-05:00

Coliseum
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

Making a vacation out of our trip to England for my sister's wedding, our first stop was Rome.

Tania & Steve's Wedding

2009-08-20T15:55:00.001-05:00

Tania & Steve's Wedding
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

My sister, Tania and her fiance', Steve finally tied the knot this past Friday after many years of being engaged and a couple of children. The good thing about this event is that it brought family and friends together from origins far. Some of these folks I haven't seen for almost a decade and it was truly awesome to catch up with them again after all this time. Another great thing about this was that the wedding was in England which gave Inna and I an opportunity to turn this into a vacation. We stopped off in Italy and France before heading up to the UK and enjoyed a little Europe before the big family reunion. I'll be sure to upload some photos of that in a few.

British Virgin Islands

2009-07-22T13:40:00.001-05:00

The Baths
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

While on disability leave, my uncle Frank invited me to join him and to bring some friends on a trip sailing the BVI. All I can say is, "WOW!"

A Reason Why I Love My Job

2009-06-05T11:01:00.003-05:00

On days like this, when the sky is blue, the sun blazing, I really love my job at Sun Trading. Why? Shorts and flip-flops is why. And looking forward to sitting in the plaza in the middle of the day catching some rays.

Chemo's Toll

2009-05-22T08:59:00.003-05:00

Back in 2004 when I *enjoyed* my first chemo treatment, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I sailed through the whole ordeal without the smallest hint of nausea. I think the worst thing for me was a little bit of chemo-brain and the fact that food didn't quite taste the same, in fact, most things tasted like cardboard (yes, I've sampled some cardboard in my life).

This time around though I haven't been so lucky. My first treatment cycle went off without a hitch and I was back at work for the most part suffering on mild nausea. My second treatment though went terribly. We established pretty quickly that body has reached its limit with Carboplatin. I developed a reaction to the drug which caused me endless coughing to the point of being sick. The recourse at the time was a dose of Benedryl and an Epi shot followed by three hours of sleep. That was the easy part. For the next five days, I spent a lot of my time riding the porcelain bus emptying my guts out thanks to some unimaginably bad nausea. For the first time I got to taste what most people endure when they go through chemotherapy. After a week of not being able to keep even a sip of water down, I ended up in the ER getting rehydrated and brought back to normal. A couple of days of limiting myself to liquids, life began to return to normal. And all of this just to prep me for my next treatment next Tuesday. Damn, I hope I don't have to go through that again!

A Geeks Wet-Dream

2009-04-24T12:06:00.004-05:00

So I wake up at 2am this morning. Not because I dreamt I was the leading man in one of Vivid's latest movies. No no! Instead, I was dreaming about running CAT5 around our entire home so we could enjoy the incredible speeds of wired networking. And boy did I struggle to get back to sleep after that! What's wrong with me?

Living on O2

2009-04-15T15:47:00.003-05:00

Photo 11
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

So this is what it has come down to. Oxygen at home in order that I don't keel over from stressing my heart because I can't take enough air into my lung. So what's involved? Well, there's a large machine in the entrance way that generates the oxygen, while a long, long tube connects to the cannula which is what is stuck on my face. I can pretty much walk anywhere in the home and drag this tubing along with me. Fun isn't it? And for when I need to get out of the house, fear not, I get to carry a portable unit that should give me about 8 hours supply. The good thing is that when I'm sedentary, I typically don't need to be connected. Now if only they (Dependicare) will deliver the portable unit then I can actually get out of the house!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-12T17:42:00.005-05:00

IMG_4416
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

I know this is going to be hard for some of you to believe. Danny is almost four years old and today marks his first Easter celebration. Maybe celebration is too strong a word since all it involved was an Easter Egg hunt in the grandparents back garden, and when all was said and done, the big event for the day was a trip to the Kohl Children's Museum. Nevertheless, we thought it important enough to capture.

Health Scare

2009-04-09T12:49:00.003-05:00

This past Tuesday was my regular monthly CT-scan and followup with Dr. Bonomi at Rush University Hospital. It's usually a five hour affair. I get the scan, get a blood test and wait for the esteemed doctor to give me the news that "all is stable!" and "we'll see you in a month." This Tuesday didn't go according to plan. First off, Dr. Bonomi was off sick (doctors do get sick from time to time). But mainly, my scans came back with some terrible news:

Tumors have grown in my lung.
Tumors are now evident in my liver.
Lung capacity is evidently reduced.
A blood clot exists in my inferior vena cava.

The blood clot was a huge concern for the doctors and nurses working my case. So much so that they admitted me to the hospital immediately; I needed blood thinners to get rid of the clot and I needed to be observed so that I wouldn't have any major bleeding issues. Additionally I needed more tests; the lung window was not sufficient to get a good view of the clot and the liver mets.

Additionally, because I was on a drug trial and things weren't working, I was pulled off the trial and informed that I would begin another round of chemotherapy next week. BUMMER!

During the next day, after the necessary scans it turns out the blood clot was a false alarm. Great news and no more huge concern. Sadly though, the liver mets are there so maybe a little concern for how things are going to pan out.

I feel like I've been down this road before...

Rent: School Friendly Edition

2009-04-03T15:57:00.003-05:00

One of the benefits of being a teacher is that you get invited to enjoy certain school events for gratis. And of course, this benefit carries over to the spouse on certain occasions as it did last night when we enjoyed dinner and the show "Rent" (the school friendly edition) at Loyola Academy. Now sadly we never did get to see the production on Broadway, we did get to enjoy the DVD and all I can say is the kids at Loyola blew us away with their version of the production. Tweaked a little from the original to make it appropriate for teenagers on stage, the story is intact and so are the songs and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the leads will be future American Idols.

The dinner was also rather enjoyable too!

Heading to Vegas

2009-02-06T10:25:00.003-06:00

Working at Sun Trading is turning out to be satisfying beyond just the programming. Why just this weekend the company is flying us down to Las Vegas for a weekend getaway ... just for fun! Various activities have been planned; some folks are planning to jump out of airplanes and experience freefall. Others are going to try their luck with grenade launchers at a nearby shooting range. As for me, I'm looking forward to a deep tissue massage at Spa Mandalay. That and the company dinner on Saturday night at Aureole. Not sure I'm going to indulge in the gambling, but might have to lay a couple of bets down. Been lucky in the past! Of course, that's all I'm going to report on the matter because as you know, "what happens in Vegas..."

It's Too Damn Cold

2009-01-26T12:25:00.001-06:00

Apparently this is supposed to be one of the coldest winters on record. No bloody kidding I say! Why do we persist to live in place that is winter for more of the year than any other season? I yearn to return to the Dominican Republic and sit on the beautiful beach at Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus, soaking in the rays of the hot sun. Alas, all we have now are the pictures to warm our frozen hearts.

Did get to see in the New Year in good company and glad that my dad and Wendy were able to join us from South Africa.

Now though, mom is visiting from England and is cooking up a storm in our kitchen (even as I type). So much cooking in fact that we had to purchase a new freezer for the garage just to have place enough to keep all the food. Aaaaah, the foreseeable future looks bright!

Winter has arrived, Dominican here we come.

2008-12-05T14:04:00.003-06:00

Winter arrived this week in force. Just a few short years ago, I would be jumping up and down for joy to see snow falling. It's funny how quickly snow becomes old. Moving some place warm is becoming a more attractive idea with each passing year. A small consolation is that Chicago has some pretty warm Summer's if only Summer were a little longer. So it is with excitement that we prepare to head down to the Dominican Republic to celebrate the season of goodwill to all men, blah blah blah, and catch some sun! We'll be gone for 10 days. That's more than a tenth of Summer (at least how I measure Summer).

Keeping up with Leon's and Owen's blogs, it's clear we've been neglecting ours. I'm thinking of taking up some nude photography as a new hobby; maybe I'll upload some of the pics I've taken then!

RANT : Effin' Bank of America!

2008-10-20T21:28:00.005-05:00

So I'm on hold with Bank of America tonight. At minute 27, the message kinda changes and they say that my call will get all the attention it deserves when they (THEY) get back on the line. I wait until minute 50 before hanging up thinking GODDAMN! BOA Customer Service really sucks. I call back immediately thinking I got lost in the queue (you know, a programming bug or something) to find out, the office is closed and has been closed a whole 25 minutes. WTF??? Were they going to keep on hold until they opened tomorrow morning. I feel like such an idiot for not hanging up sooner. I feel like hanging up my bank account, but unfortunately it wouldn't hurt them any ... they're BOA.

Golf Tournament

2008-08-17T10:54:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I participated in our company's annual golf tournament. Golf is something I haven't played since 1998, when Cliff Saunders, Mike Gorski, I and some other chap played out at St. Andrews (I believe) on Route 59. So I was rather fortunate that it was a scramble. I played absolutely terribly in general, but had a lot of fun doing so. I had a couple of okay drives and a few other balls did exactly what they were supposed to do. The rest all ventured off to the right as I sliced almost everything that I didn't top. The weather was perfect, the company was good and since the other three players excelled at golf, our score at the end of the day was a very respectable Even. One of these days, after a few lessons, I'm going to venture onto the golf course and see how well I do scoring on my own.

And coming home after a taxing day on the golf course, I get to enjoy the company of the Barsukovi family (and guests) and the Dostaler/Macdonald clan who had done all the hard work of preparing a lovely Mexican Taco BBQ. I didn't have to lift a finger (until washing up the next day), which is exactly how a weekend should be spent. Thanks Leane and Viktoria!

The Sun is Shining

2008-07-31T16:48:00.000-05:00

It's been a month now that I've been working at my new job; Sun Trading, a proprietary trading firm in Chicago and all I can say is Whooopeeeeee! The environment change and getting to experience the cool culture of a company finding success is not only very refreshing, but incredibly fulfilling. I'm just loving picking up the new architecture and learning new frameworks and meeting incredibly smart people in the process. Not to mention that shorts and flip-flops are acceptable work attire.

Wilderness on the Lake

2008-06-28T18:14:00.002-05:00

My mom and her hubby Keith are here in Chicago enjoying a two-week sun (and thunderstorm)-filled break from their home in England. During their first week we took a trip up to the Wisconsin Dells, a trip we had booked back at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, a week before their arrival, Lake Delton emptied out into the Wisconsin River. We opted not to cancel our trip, and we ended up having just the most wonderful time. The weather was spectacular. Lake Delton made for an interesting attraction and time spent just chilling by the pool was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Between Jobs

2008-06-17T15:57:00.003-05:00

I finally took the plunge and handed my resignation in at Townsend Analytics two weeks ago, my home for the last six years. My last day in the office was this past Friday; it was a bitter-sweet day for me. I've really enjoyed my time there and appreciated the opportunity to move from VB into C++, something I had been trying to do since I pretty much arrived here having done Delphi back in South Africa. The gang that I worked with with were a real nice bunch, some of whom have begun to feel like family. I'm going to miss their company and working with them and if my new group of colleagues is only half as good as the crowd from TAL, I'd still be in good company.

So before I start at the new digs, I've got two weeks of fun in the sun to enjoy. My mom and her hubby are in town from England for a short vacation so we're going to spend some quality time together.

Las Vegas Getaway

2008-05-13T11:23:00.002-05:00

William Macdonald was kind enough to invite me to join him and his gang of friends and colleagues from AllState on their annual Las Vegas weekend getaway. While Friday to Sunday may have made it a fleeting trip, we did get to enjoy some of what Vegas has to offer: glorious sunshine, pools crowded with beautiful bodies, awesome food and drink, a taste of gambling where we learned to play craps and failed miserably. We stayed at the Flamingo which exceeded my expectations immensely. The company was a rowdy group having a great time and it was unfortunate that we had to leave early on Sunday only to experience flight cancellations and delays in Phoenix that stopped us getting back at a sane hour.

Of course, this all meant putting in a poor showing for mother's day but what can you do?

Back Full-Time

2008-04-10T16:42:00.002-05:00

Started back at work full-time this Monday. Wow! It's a lot harder than I thought it would be. Doesn't help that I want to keep napping all the time. But even still, it's nice being productive and challenging the grey matter.

Flying Solo

2008-03-26T17:56:00.002-05:00

These past few days I've been bouncing around the empty corridors of our home; I'm all alone. Inna head off to France last week to escort her students on their Spring Break exchange program with a school in Le Havre. And to help me out, Danny's grandparents have taken him for the 10 days that Inna is away. I've got to say that prior to their departures, I was kinda looking forward to some peace and quiet. Now that I have it, all I can say is that I miss my Innochka and Dannichka terribly! I've nobody to pick on or scold and that's no way for the man of the house to live. Seriously, I'm really looking forward to our reunion this Sunday. And to tide me over, I still get to spend some evenings with our increasingly talkative little boy.

6 More Treatments

2008-03-25T18:34:00.002-05:00

Only six more treatments to go before I can kiss this whole brain radiation sh!t goodbye! I mentioned in a previous post that fatigue was getting me down a little. I didn't even begin to understand what fatigue meant at that point. Now I fall asleep on a dime. Fell asleep on the examination bed in the doctor's office today ... twice! So once it's all over apparently it can take up to a month until my body has recovered. Will somebody wake me up then?

Gone Tomorrow

2008-03-20T11:38:00.001-05:00

Gone Tomorrow
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

Aaaah, that's much better.

Hair Today

2008-03-19T16:33:00.001-05:00

Hair Today
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

My radiation treatment is going "well". So far, all I can complain about is the incredible fatigue and a very itchy scalp. I'm at about the half-way mark in the process and they warned me that the itchiness will get worse and that I'll also lose my hair. So to combat that I'm going to get my head shaved this evening. This photo is really for Inna and my mom who are not too fond of me without any hair. Apparently my bean is quite an odd shape!

Whole Brain Radiation

2008-03-05T17:52:00.005-06:00

The decision over my radiation regimen has been made, but not without some back-and-forth between the doctors: twenty ~~five~~ days of whole brain radiation starting tomorrow. I've got to say, I was hoping for the stereo tactic treatment (like cyber-knife, gamma-knife, focused radiation) which would have spared my "healthy" brain paying attention to the tumor bed and the small tumor left untouched by surgery. However, as this will also spare any unseen tumors and metastatic cancer flakes that probably exist elsewhere in my brain, the more prudent approach is to zap the whole darn thing. Usually given over ten days, the lower daily dose applied over twenty-five days together with my youth and general good health (hehe) should conspire to limit the side-effects of this process. I'm not altogether fond of the idea of going through early-onset dementia, although this could prove quite amusing for the rest of you.

A Hole in the Head

2008-02-18T09:22:00.002-06:00

An incredible testament to medicine and technology is that that I'm sitting at home after just two days from having a tumor removed from my brain. In a matter of a week we went from finding a small 15mm tumor just below the surface of the skull to being admitted, having it removed and being sent home to recover. What a whirlwind these past few days have been, but I cannot express my gratitude enough to the folks at Rush University Hospital who endowed me with unimaginable care and had me leave feeling much better than ever before (or was that the Morphine?). I've got fifteen more days to rest and recover before we being radiation treatment and not too long after that this will all be but a blur. Looking forward to that...

A Small Tumor on the Brain

2008-02-11T11:50:00.001-06:00

My three month check-up two weeks ago turned up some good news and some not so good news. The standard CT of the chest demonstrated continued stability of the cancer which is the status quo we've been enjoying for more than a year now. Great news for somebody in my position. However, I've been annoyed with some momentary bouts of memory loss and mention of this to the doctor immediately had him schedule me a brain scan; this is were the bad news was lurking. All I know to date is that a small tumor has been located and that some associated inflammation is the probable cause for my memory loss. What's definite is that it is getting taken out; this week I have tests and doctor's visits to prepare me for this and the surgery could happen as early as Friday.

All Is Well

2008-01-14T15:16:00.000-06:00

I think it's safe to mention that Inna is well and back home. She was given the green light to return home last Wednesday after all her tests came back clean. The diagnosis remains a mystery; they informed Inna what they believed caused all her pain, but she was still coming out from her anesthesia and unfortunately could not remember any of what he said.

Spoke Too Soon

2008-01-07T09:17:00.001-06:00

So thinking that things could only improve after Inna's trip to the ER last week may have been a little premature. The poor lass spent the weekend in hospital suffering from chronic abdominal pain. The docs thought she had inflammation caused by ovarian cysts and she was given the green light to return home today. However, a resurgence in the pain overnight and an update from the gynecologist eliminating ovarian cysts has changed our plans and she will remain in hospital until they can figure out what's going on.

A Happy New Year

2008-01-04T14:39:00.000-06:00

So we find ourselves back in the thick of things after a terrific week spent with family in San Diego over the holidays and a fun-filled new years eve spent with good friends drinking far too much. To kick off the new year though, Inna pulled off a brilliant trick early Thursday morning which involved having to take her to the ER for stitches, with a CT-Scan and EKG thrown in for good measure.

Suffering from a bout of diarrhea on Wednesday night Inna fought off some serious stomach cramps during the night to the point that while perched on the toilet, the pain was enough to cause her to pass out, fall forward, and bash her head on the floor. Good fortune had her phone ring at 2am (a wrong number) which roused me from my slumber as well as Inna from her state of unconsciousness. Taking some time to figure out what had happened, we soon established she was going to need stitches. At times like this I'm grateful that the in-laws are close and responsive. We were able to leave Danny asleep in their care. After a trip to the clinic and an ambulance ride to the ER, Inna is now sporting stitch stubble and we also learned that doctor's don't refer to feinting spells, but to vasovagal responses or syncope. 2008 can only get better from here.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T11:03:00.000-06:00

Enjoyed our first Thanksgiving and first major meal in our new home yesterday with the in-laws, even in the absence of furniture. Everything turned out mostly well and the High-Roast Turkey recommended by David Greenfield was a major success, even when our new oven decided to fail on us just minutes away from the whole lot being done. Saved by our microwave oven; one thing I was extremely thankful for.

It didn't take long after for the Tryptophan to start kicking in.

Moved In?

2007-11-07T09:03:00.000-06:00

A month ago we moved out to make our condo available to the tenant and finally, after three months of remodeling, we moved into our new home this Sunday. What a relief, right? Well not exactly. There are a bunch of small items that remain on the to-do list, not least of which is to get the refrigerator installed; a game I don't want to play anymore (having stayed home Monday to find out there was a scheduling mix-up, and with another scheduling misunderstanding yesterday while Inna was home sick means it won't be installed until Saturday, assuming our schedules are in sync). So I guess the truth is we are still moving in. And considering the amount of unpacking we have left to do, we are going to be moving in for quite a while...

Big thanks to the in-laws who have put us up this last month and who've had to clean up after Danny's "monkeying around" (when it comes to playing with and throwing diaper contents).

The Big Move

2007-10-24T15:13:00.000-05:00

After much delay, we are gearing up to make the big move this coming Saturday. Recent chats with the contractor confirm how all the work is coming to a close, although there will still be some minor items that require attention after our move. I'm besides myself with excitement even though we will still be waiting months for the furniture to start arriving.

Botanic Wonderings

2007-10-10T11:48:00.001-05:00

Botanic Wonderings
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

Mari and I had been trying to make a trip to the Chicago Botanic gardens happen for months, since shortly after little Gabriel arrived into the world. Plans finally came together this late summer's day where we enjoyed a stroll as the sun went down.

Danny McCartney

2007-10-01T20:53:00.001-05:00

Danny McCartney
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

After all the "behind-the-curve" stuff we've been hearing with regards Daniel's development, we were absolutely shocked when Daniel's teacher pulled us aside to tell us that she thinks he is gifted in the area of music. I don't know about this stuff, but we're gonna take whatever we can get. So thanks to the grandparents, Danny now has a little electronic piano to beat out some tunes. And boy does he send it when given the chance. Amusingly, when tone-deaf mommy tries to join in with some singing, he shushes her. I don't mean to brag, but he hasn't shushed me yet :-)

T Minus 1 Day

2007-09-28T10:18:00.000-05:00

We've almost reached our big move day. Inna and I (read: I) have been busy packing boxes all week and making our small condo look like a disaster area. Unfortunately though, there is plenty of packing still to do so I wonder if we're going to be ready for the movers at 9am tomorrow. I'm sure they won't mind since they're paid by the hour.

We're Moving

2007-09-21T20:27:00.000-05:00

The good news is we're finally moving next weekend. The bad news is we're moving out, not in. Now that we've found tenants, we need to get out so that they can get in. While we wait for the new place to be finished, we'll be living with the IN-LAWS!!! Wish me luck!

William's Birthday Bash

2007-09-17T21:08:00.000-05:00

We cracked the nod to William's birthday gathering which was, ahem, a select group of folks if I do say so myself ;-) Just the most enjoyable evening with special friends. Perfect!

Landlords

2007-09-17T21:06:00.000-05:00

I don't know if this is necessarily a good thing, but having struggled to sell our home, we opted instead to rent out the condo. With the lease signed this past Saturday we have become landlords! And to kick it off, the tenant called today with the news the I should defer cashing the deposit check until next week. Is this a sign of things to come?

Offer Withdrawn

2007-08-27T12:00:00.001-05:00

The current market conditions for selling a home are pretty dismal at the moment. We thought we were going to avoid the long drawn out process after accepting an offer on our condo last week. Sadly though, the prospective buyers pulled out of the deal today after the inspection on Friday. No word as to what their concern was so we're just going to assume they had second thoughts.

Our New Home

2007-08-24T10:58:00.001-05:00

Here are some photos of our new home. Only outside for the time being as the inside, amidst some remodeling, looks like a bomb has hit it.

Aruba

2007-08-17T19:47:00.001-05:00

Photos from our recent trip to Aruba.

Trip to Google

2007-07-26T19:44:00.000-05:00

I recently enjoyed a trip to the Google campus in Mountain View as part of the much maligned Google Interview process, though unfortunately things didn't work out as I had hoped the would. Taxing questions aside, I did get to sample some that food that Googlers enjoy gratis each day. This served as a great opportunity to see a little San Francisco too, a city that's been on my todo list for quite some. Grateful to be able to hook up with William Mee who's calling it home over the summer while interning for the very company that turned me away. The link takes you to some pictures of the trip down there.

Exciting Times

2007-07-26T13:43:00.000-05:00

Some good news to report from our end. First and foremost, another niece has been added to the family. Kelly Burford arrived yesterday to Tania and Steve and is our first French born in the clan (that we know of).

Additionally, we closed on our home yesterday bringing a close the ordeal of finding a new place to live. I believe our realtor's are happy too; we tortured them in our quest looking at over 80 homes. Of course, now we begin the task of selling our current residence hoping to get rid of it before the season comes to an end.

Daycare's response

2007-07-22T12:23:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize we had sufficient readership for news to get back to the daycare about our post on Danny's expulsion but somehow it did and we're grateful that the owner is now aware of how upset we are. Of course it shows too that there are always three sides to a story. Read their response and make up your own minds.

Four years and counting

2007-07-20T10:31:00.000-05:00

Inna and I celebrated our forth wedding anniversary yesterday. Thanks to the help of our fine brother-in-law who stepped in to watch Danny, we enjoyed a quiet evening at a nearby French restaurant. The food, while delicious, was heavy. We both endured a restless night; not for the reason we had hoped, but because we were always tossing and turning trying to get comfortable with the load in our tummies. Still, a very enjoyable evening and a first of hopefully many visits back to this restaurant.

Expelled at 2 years old!

2007-07-19T13:21:00.000-05:00

Danny started at a new daycare this week. One that was far more convenient for us, being only five minutes away instead of thirty-five. So when picking up Daniel on Monday evening, the teacher informs us of the following:

Danny is far, far, far behind in his development. She puts this two-year old at the level of a one-year old.

Danny does not understand language as he fails to follow her instructions.

Danny is very disruptive in that he demands all her attention and she is unable to focus on the educational needs of the other children.

Danny's schedule caused him to wake up in advance of the other children and his subsequent singing caused the other children to wake up.

She doesn't think this is going to work out but is willing to give us a month. If things don't improve, we'll need to take Danny out of her daycare.

Oh well. Not particularly great news, but we have some time and hopefully things will work out.

The next day comes and at eleven o'clock in the morning we get a call; she's had it with Danny and we need to pick him up immediately.

WHAT???? CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS????

I'm glad that neither Inna or I were in a position to pick him up until 5pm at least (and in fact that I was blissfully unaware of any of this until I got home), but to say we are angry is quite an understatement. Sad at her impression of our child's behavior and development but angry at her for not giving him a little more time. And the fact that there has not been so much as a murmur about any problems with Danny from the other daycares makes us wonder about the validity of her concerns. Except for the fact that we know Danny is a little "slow!".

"Expelled at two!" my sister pointed out. We enjoyed a good laugh over that!

Not that any of you want to send your kids to a daycare in Buffalo Grove, but if you do, stay away from Alena's Home School!

Some Photos from England

2007-07-15T15:19:00.000-05:00

Photos from my trip to England to celebrate the union of my mom and her boyfriend. I know, no pictures of the wedding and too few of the rest of the week. Don't worry, Inna more than made up with that with loads of pics from Mexico City which we'll stick up soon.

One Big Happy Family

2007-07-09T13:39:00.000-05:00

I'm glad to report that we are finally one big happy family again. Inna returned from her stint in Mexico City over the weekend. It turns out to have been a very good experience for her even with all the shortcomings and problems associated with being a tourist in a place like Mexico City. Interestingly, she was the only one in her group not to succumb to Montezuma's Revenge and ironically, she found the smoggy air of the capital a breath of fresh air compared to the allergy-inducing stuff she's forced to breathe in Chicago every day.

As for Danny. The lad has recovered from what turned out to simply be a virus of some sort. Still, after having to take him back to the doctor last Tuesday where I was forced to hold him down while they drew more blood and catheterized him ... twice, I felt like a terrible father. I was in pain, never mind what he must have gone through. All the tests came back completely normal; a huge relief for us all.

And finally; I sincerely hope I'm not talking about this too soon, but things are moving ahead with the new home. We finally found a place that transitioned beyond the inspection and appears to be moving full steam ahead towards the closing which should take place on July 25th. Definitely a step up from where we are now and we're looking forward to hosting all of you at some point when you decide to visit us in Chicago ;-)

An English Wedding

2007-07-03T13:13:00.000-05:00

Just got back from the an incredible week of flying solo (sans wife and kid) to England for a family reunion around my mom's wedding. Talk about hectic. Each day was busy with some event or other and most of these were just braai's or dinners or lunches at various spots around the West Midlands. This ensured the blood alcohol level was kept topped up. The wedding itself was a hit and a country club that was set on a beautiful lake. The weather, as you can imagine, was just terrible with rain each and every single day. With all the partying and drinking, I feel like I've returned home to check myself into rehab.

Returning home from all of this I am shocked to find that Daniel has been admitted into hospital. I went straight from the airport there to find our little guy lying quite helpless and feverish. He appears to have contracted some sort of virus as all the tests didn't turn up anything untoward. Seems to be doing a little better today. It's apparent he likes some good old TLC so hopefully by the end of the week he'll be fighting fit.

Google Solar

2007-06-18T20:54:00.000-05:00

This just blew my socks off. I first read about it here at The Google Blog.

4 Down. How many more to go?

2007-05-26T12:06:00.000-05:00

They say this is a buyer's market. That doesn't mean it's easy to buy a home. We've now had 4 unsuccessful attempts and find ourselves back at square one. Just this week, our accepted offer on a foreclosure (pending the signed paperwork) fell-through when some party came in a put in an "a much higher" offer, waived inspection and legal representation and got the house - all without any word to us until it was signed sealed and delivered. Now doesn't that smell rotten? A real pity of course, since we were head-over-heals in love with that place. What are the chances we'll get lucky on house number 5?

New York City

2007-05-08T13:06:00.000-05:00

Enjoyed our first trip ever to the Big Apple this past weekend. This was my birthday gift from Innochka and boy-oh-boy, did we have a good time! Thanks to Natalya and David for putting us up and to William for squeezing some time in from his exam prep. Obviously the three days we had was not nearly enough to take in the city which means we'll just have to go back (and soon, we hope). Central Park blew us away; we'd go back just for that.

Copperfield

2007-04-30T14:08:00.000-05:00

After growing up watching "The Greatest Magician Ever!" on the tele, it was quite the event to see David Copperfield live at Rosemont Theater this weekend. There's no doubt about it, he does put together a very entertaining show even if some of the tricks had been seen before. After seeing him on Friday night and hearing the feedback from in-laws who went on the Saturday night, we were able to figure out (a little) how he pulled of some of his tricks; let's just say that not all the audience participation is off the cuff. Oh well, at least we were mesmerized in the moment.

Still Hunting Houses

2007-04-18T15:06:00.000-05:00

The task of looking for a new home is most definitely much harder the second time around. We found our first home on the first day of looking; it was the second condo we looked at and we put in an offer that same day. A little too fast you might think, but we've had no regrets and considering the headache we're enduring this time around I wish we had the same sort of luck. We did put in an offer for a nice place in Deerfield. Amazingly it was accepted pretty fast, but the subsequent inspection turned up a can of worms. I can freely share that homes with EIFS exteriors are best avoided and flat roofs are generally not a good idea in the Midwest (never mind the rest of the country). So of course we withdrew the offer pretty quick.

The past couple of weeks, we've had a reprieve from the hunt thanks to Inna heading off to France for Spring Break. Enjoyed my first ever stint as a single parent and that was a lot easier than everybody had warned. So I guess I should be all prepared for when she goes to Mexico City for three weeks in the summer.

Danny is showing signs of turning two real soon; he's a cranky little bat most of the time! Whatever happened to the little angel we had?

House-hunting

2007-03-26T09:24:00.000-05:00

We began the house-hunting process this weekend which coincided perfectly with the warm weather that moved into Chicago. Made for a rather enjoyable drive around the environ of Buffalo Grove. Yes, the ideal would be to find another house that we can call home in our Village since we like it so much. Unfortunately this was met with sleepless nights as our minds churned over the images and figures associated with buying a home. Will it meet our needs, are we over-committing, should we expand the search to more neighborhoods??? So far, we have found two houses that have gotten us really excited. The first we wrote off the next day because it was simply too close to a major route and the noise was just too noticeable (and it was a bit of a fixer-upper). The other is a little too close to power-lines for our liking, but the home seems perfect beyond that. Inna is already packing her bags to move in. I would still like to see a few more homes before making the big commitment.

French Exchange

2007-03-14T10:06:00.000-05:00

Inna's school, Loyola Academy, is in the midst of hosting a group of French students as part of a foreign student exchange. As a result, we are playing host to one of the group's teachers so Inna now finds herself in her element; talking French morning, noon and night. It is proving to be a very busy week with loads of events planned to help the foreign students enjoy their stay. And since I am an organizing-teacher's husband, I have managed to benefit from all the hoopla. Last night we watched the Bulls beat the Boston Celtics where it seems that basketball is only half of the entertainment, while tonight we are off to the theater to watch "Wicked". I feel like I'm at the losing end of a building sleep deficit.

This American Life

2007-03-02T13:01:00.000-06:00

Inna and I are huge fans of the Chicago Public Radio show, "This American Life." To kick-off their upcoming TV Show on Showtime, they put on a one night production (recorded for radio release on the weekend of March 16) at the Chicago Theater last night which we attended and whole-heartedly enjoyed. Ira Glass looks, well different from what you'd expect; at least he did for me. The show was typical of what you would hear on the radio on a Friday evening; in this case the theme was "What I Learned From TV" and one of the acts was a discussion of what went into the TV production and some segments from the TV Show itself.

If you haven't heard of This American Life or if you haven't heard a show, I highly recommend trying out their podcast.

Danny's gone Potty

2007-02-10T17:29:00.001-06:00

DSC02811.JPG
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

No, not toilet-training potty, pots potty!

Meet little Amy

2007-02-05T06:49:00.001-06:00

IMG_2525, originally uploaded by kmcnally.

The newest member of our family.

FamilyCount++

2007-01-31T08:15:00.000-06:00

We're celebrating the arrival of another little Mac with the birth of Amy to my brother Karl and his fiance, Katie. She came in at a spritely 6 pounds 10 ounces, smaller than anticipated and his a happy, healthy and apparently very happy little girl. The rest of the details are blurry since we were woken to the good news just before 5am this morning.

Continued Stability

2007-01-29T10:19:00.000-06:00

My three month routine continued last week with another check-up at Rush Hospital just outside the loop. Continued stability is observed which keeps things on the level for 6+ months; news that we are all delighted with. I asked the doc about dichloroacetate (something that has been in the news recently). He hasn't heard of it and I'm hoping that's because it's so new rather than anything else (more sinister or otherwise).

The Holidays

2007-01-16T20:49:00.000-06:00

2007 begins as 2006 ended; too bloody quickly. I feel like I'm losing my grip on time and falling into a spin that is the daily routine. Christmas and New Year flew past but were enjoyed in the company of the in-laws. The link will take you to some pictures taken over the holidays. During the course of December, we did manage to get in some skiing and ice-skating, in addition to all the gift-shopping. It wasn't Japan mind you, but it kept us busy, not including Daniel :-)

The Goose is Getting Fat

2006-12-04T11:51:00.000-06:00

To help us get into the spirit of the season, we began putting up decorations yesterday, starting with the ol' xmas tree. With a toddler in the house it has made for a novel looking, somewhat imbalanced looking tree with most of the decorations out of reach from little fingers. This hasn't stopped our critter from trying to shake everything off the tree altogether though. Fun times ahead.

Snow Day

2006-12-02T13:43:00.000-06:00

DSC02623.JPG
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

Friday saw the first snow of the season and boy did it snow! Lucky for Inna, she got to stay at home with Danny and play (many schools were closed). The trains were running though, so I didn't have an excuse not to go into work.

A Photo Update

2006-11-29T22:18:00.000-06:00

My grandmother has returned to San Diego after spending a couple of months with us. We've returned to a relative quiet (well, as quiet as it can be with a toddler in the house). I've devoted some time to catching up with the photos and uploaded a few to our flickr account:

No News is Good News

2006-10-25T11:14:00.000-05:00

I really shouldn't remain so quiet on the blog for so long. The "you still alive?" emails can be quite unnerving! So I thought I would take an opportunity to report a little good news. Or rather, to report the lack of some bad news. Yesterday I had my three month check up with my oncologist. After a relatively poor showing last week with some PET scan results (compared to a PET scan done a year ago), I was not looking forward to what I was going to hear. It turns out though that I have remained completely stable over the last three months. No new reported tumor growth which in my boat is fantastic news. One of Leroy Sievers' recent blog entries discusses needing some good news once in a while. I can certainly relate! I almost feel like we should go out and celebrate.

Ouma Burton

2006-09-05T09:11:00.000-05:00

My grandmother, or "Ouma" as she prefers to be called, is in town from San Diego. This has been on the books since Danny was born, but only now have we been able to make it happen. It's lovely having family staying with us and her need to constantly wash and clean up is something I think I could get used to. We might even promote her to head-chef while she's here. She'll be with us for a month or so before heading back to South Africa for a brief stay, so more than enough time for Danny to bond with his Pra-Babubushka.

Danny Running

2006-08-27T21:18:00.000-05:00

DSC02187.JPG
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

Walking yesterday. Running today. Oh no, we're in trouble!

Spain Photos

2006-08-26T23:03:00.000-05:00

DSC01865.JPG
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

Our photos from Spain and England are online.

Danny Walking

2006-08-26T19:06:00.000-05:00

DSC02166
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

He seemed to be getting the hang of it in England where we maxed out at 26 steps (while outside a Chinese restaurant where we were enjoying some Peking duck). Now, he's wondering around the play-pen, often being chased by us and having a good old time.

To Spain and Back

2006-08-23T09:59:00.000-05:00

It's been too long since our last entry and over the course of our absence we enjoyed a wonderful trip to Costa Blanca in Spain and endured some miserable weather in England. Of course, the highlight of trip for me, besides the sun and surf, was the food. Of course we were very happy to catch up with Mike and Meri from Barcelona but unfortunately couldn't quite rendevouz with Leon and Elizma in the UK (sorry guys). With my mom looking to tie the knot next year we might be able to do something like this again and hopefully it will include a stay in Barcelona itself. Rather than bore you with the details of our holiday, I'll post the pictures a little later. All I can say is that the view from our villa in Cumbre del Sol was just glorious!

Baby Steps

2006-08-02T08:15:00.000-05:00

We're at that stage where we are counting how many steps Danny takes before keeling over. I know this probably isn't anything to get over excited about, but yesterday we counted a whole FOUR steps :)

My Public Key

2006-07-14T11:58:00.000-05:00

Some of you have wondered what "public_key.asc" was all about in my recent emails. This is my public key:

-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.2.2 (GNU/Linux)
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=habX
-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

The good news is that some of you are already using this (and for that I'm pretty impressed). The bad news is that the rest of you should already be using it too. Sending emails (or any data for that matter) so that only the intended recipients can read them is something many folks think they are getting but unless you are intentionally encrypting your data, you are not. If you're not a geek and are interested in learning more about this, check out this primer as well as PortableThunderbird with Enigmail/GPG.

"Baby"

2006-07-12T13:05:00.000-05:00

Over the past couple of days Danny has been saying what appears to be "baby". Strange thing is, Inna and I don't really use that word so we think we're hearing things. This morning however, Inna is certain he's saying "baby" as it comes out very clear and he repeats it often. Well, it turns out that all the other kids at daycare (all quite older than Danny) call him "baby" in their interactions with him. So maybe "baby" is what he's saying after all?

Photos Uploaded

2006-07-11T22:31:00.000-05:00

About time, I know!

My Cancer

2006-07-11T10:53:00.000-05:00

Here's a journalist who's got cancer and blogging/podcasting about his experience:

After that day, your life is never the same. "That day" is the day the doctor tells you, "You have cancer." Every one of us knows someone who's had to face that news. It's scary, it's sad. But it's still life, and it's a life worth living. "My Cancer" is a daily account of my life and my fight with cancer.

My next scan is set for July 25. Looking forward to some good news...

BIOS Blues

2006-07-08T21:27:00.000-05:00

Lately I feel like I've been cursed when it comes to roll-your-own computers. My nicer machine went dead a couple of months back. Today, I reboot my Ubuntu system to find it will no longer boot-up. What the hell? Why does this keep happening to me? The box surviving POST, hung when it was supposed to launch GRUB. After some analysis, it turns out that if I unplug my SATA hard-drive, all is well. Anyway, to cut a long story short, after a couple of hours of trying to find a way to boot my system with the SATA hard-drive connected so that I could low-level format it (thankfully, I do keep backups), I figured out that if I don't plug the keyboard into the PS/2 socket but rather the USB socket, my system boots up with the SATA drive - no problems. Holy cow, this box is temperamental. A little while later I discover there is a newer BIOS for my motherboard that's still in beta (and has been for the last three years). After flashing the mobo I'm now able to boot up with my keyboard in any of the two sockets. To think I was this close to thinking my SATA drive was a brick. I also learned that my Athlon 900 should fit into my mobo that died a few months back - I wonder if I can bring that back from the dead?

Geeking Out

2006-06-29T10:55:00.000-05:00

I'm having a geek-out-of-body-experience and I have to tell you why. Our home has finally gone Windowless! That's right, we are completely a Linux-shop now with Inna running Xubuntu and Ubuntu running on my box. Her poor little laptop was suffering under the "load" of WinMe that it came with it. How can WinMe be a load? I don't know, but the thing was as sluggish little critter. Given the choice of trying to fix the problem (by probably reinstalling Me) or doing away with the problem completely, I opted for the latter. Xubuntu amazed me in that it all just worked. I expected some issues with the wireless card (seeing that a lot of people have issues on this particular point) but lucky me, it worked off the bat. I have to admit that I do have a Windows 2000 VM session that I have to use on occasion, so maybe we aren't 100% Windowless?

First Words?

2006-06-26T08:49:00.000-05:00

After all the effort we've put in to try and get Danny to utter the words "Mama" or "Papa" we've finally hit pay dirt. So, what is the word he's saying? No, not "Mama". No, not "Papa" either. It's "Dai" (Russian for "give me" - apparently he's got his priorities just right). He's very cute though as he turns his hands flat and curls his fingers in and out mimicking the gesture we taught him when we would say "Dai" to him. I really find it amusing how he'll crawl around the floor jabbering in baby-speak then stop, sit-up and start saying "Dai" with the hand gesture out of the blue. Then there is also the gesture of "all gone" that we can't help but enjoy. In conjunction with his baby-speak it's as if he's really saying stuff like, "Hey, I threw my ball over here but it's gone, have you seen it?"

Birthday Bashing

2006-06-19T21:54:00.000-05:00

The weather cooperated very nicely for our big birthday bash this past Saturday to honor the Inna and Daniel who's birthdays were last week. In fact, if anything, it was a little too cooperative! The few drops of rain in the evening were a welcome relief, but since Daniel, and his lone party guest Marcus got to splash around in the baby pool, we won't complain. Inna worked tirelessly to ensure enough food was put on the table and boy did she do a good job. I promised not to take any credit since all I was responsible for was making sure the meat was cooked on the "Barbie". No complaints, well except for there not being enough Bruschetta, but what can you do? Unfortunately I didn't get too many photos of the event (just a couple of boys in the pool) so you'll just have to take my word for it that the event went off well.

Ft. Lauderdale

2006-06-12T08:34:00.000-05:00

I was given the good fortune of being asked to attend the Trader's Expo which took place in Fort Lauderdale last week. A big deal for me since this was to be my very first business trip. So now I'm on the board, but I've got a long way to go before catching up with the likes of Charlie and William. While the show itself had us standing up for six hours talking about RealTick to traders and wanna-be-traders, the best part was definitely the after-show chillout on the beach. Fantastic warm weather and water and expensed meals. And people complain that business travel is hard? Innochka who was stressed by the fact she was going to have to deal with everything at home by herself realized that it was no more difficult than when I'm home. While trying to imply that I'm a lazy SOB, I chose instead to interpret that comment as permission to go on more trips :)

Danny is (Finally) Crawling

2006-05-15T09:03:00.000-05:00

We are so delighted to report that this Saturday, our little Danny finally decided to become mobile. When two of his toys left his toy perimeter, he decided this time to recover them and leopard-crawled his way across the carpet to do so. Two days shy of 11 months; hip-hip-hooray! After that he seemed to enjoy this new found mode of transportation and decided not only to retrieve lost toys, but to do some investigating too.

Giving up the Ghost - New Beginnings

2006-05-13T15:24:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time in the making, but this week my WinXP machine decided to call it quits after a reboot required for some Windows Updates to take effect. Considering the grief she gave me last year with having to replace a power supply and then a video card and memory, I knew I was operating on borrowed time. The problem with all this is that I ABSOLUTELY NEED A COMPUTER to function and all I am left with is my trusty AMD Athlon 900 running Mandrake 2005 with just the console. Well last night a decided, after having evaluated Ubuntu Linux and liking it very much, to replace Mandrake with Ubuntu. I'm relieved to say that I don't feel the need to run out and by a replacement WinXP system. Ubuntu is handling better than I could have dreamed and since it allows me to VPN into work and Remote Desktop to my development box there really is no need to change. I'm thinking I'll save up and wait for a Vista capable box or maybe even jump ship altogether and get a Mac.

The Big C Diet

2006-05-09T15:52:00.000-05:00

C as in crazy!

With recent news regarding my health in mind, Inna has seen fit to completely overhaul what I'm eating, taking her cue from what Patrick Quillin had to say in his "Beating Cancer with Nutrition" bestseller. I'm in week three of a 12 week program (12 because that will take me up to my next CT-Scan) and missing out on all those foods I enjoy the most :( Basically all processed and refined foods have been ditched with an emphasis placed on eating grains, vegetables, fruits and white meat. No more sweets (not even the occasional one), no more beer (or anything alcoholic) and no more coffee (or anything with caffeine). Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Of course, if ... at the end of the day we can report a measurable improvement in my condition, then this would have been a small sacrifice. What's interesting is that it's not too far off from the "Body for Life" eating paradigm I tried out a few years back.

Now, where's that celery stick?

Back to the Botanic

2006-05-07T21:13:00.000-05:00

DSC01525
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

After missing out on many attempts to visit the Chicago Botanic Gardens, we finally made a trip today. I would say just in time to see some incredibly beautiful blooms, but somehow they always manage to have beautiful flowers on display. Still with our new appreciation for the season's blossoms (thanks to the crab-apple tree outside our front door) and wonderfully warm weather we very much enjoyed our walk through the gardens. Some recent pictures (including a few from the gardens) have been added to our flickr collection.

Good News and Other News

2006-04-21T15:52:00.000-05:00

A week of more tests and doctors visits and this is what we have learned. Danny is officially "behind" as far as the doctor is concerned and thus has to go and see a physical therapist. As alarming as this is to us we've been advised not to take this concern to heart, so we will do our best not to. Innochka has an uncommon skin condition that causes scar tissue to go very hard (she is therefore not a good candidate for cosmetic surgery). Other news is that a recent CT-Scan of mine shows yet more minimal growth of suspected cancer tumors and thus I remain relatively stable. The oncologist was visibly cautious this time around and expressed a wish to alter my treatment should this minimal growth be evident in my next scan in three months. So what's the good news? Well, my recent 24 Hour EEG has me looking quite normal and thus I'm allowed to discontinue my brain medication (oh the joy).

Slowing Down to a Crawl

2006-04-08T10:54:00.000-05:00

DSC01457
Originally uploaded by Macknal.

Danny does seem to be taking his time with the development tasks many children have mastered by his age. Are we phased? Well, maybe ... just a little. Sometimes we get the feeling he's going to launch off to the other side of the room, but then...

A Year to Live, A Year to Die

2006-03-29T09:28:00.000-06:00

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

2006-03-27T09:29:00.000-06:00

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

2006-03-25T16:30:00.000-06:00

DSC01452
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!

2006-03-21T09:31:00.000-06:00

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!