Dad Gets a New Toy

No more pushmower. Now it's a relaxing ride around the yard with a
cold beer in the cupholder. Yard "work"?

Spidergirl

You can wear pink and be a superhero. Just ask Jillian.

Homemade Sword by Jack

Jack is our family inventor. Give him tape, cardboard, scissors and
paper and he will disappear for over an hour. When he reappears, we
are always amazed. Whether it's a catapult, an "Everything Machine",
a diarama, or a super powerful sword with shiny aluminum foil that he
swiped from the pantry... Jack never ceases to amaze us with his
creative imagination. I wonder what he'll be when he grows up.

Villanova Elite Eight Game

And we are all watching a double digit lead 18-8 at 7:26pm, hoping for
a win tonight and a trip to The Final Four.

I took the Acela to Boston late on Wednesday and had no hotel
reservation. I walked from South Station to over the area along the
waterfront where all the new development is and got a room at the
Westin. I ran into Jay Wright in the lobby, said "Hey Coach! We're
lookin good!" Crushed Duke the next night.

20-12 ... now

Still lookin good!

Watching Our Animoto Videos in DVD Quality

was our favorite part of the day. I had a task postponed too many
times (according to RememberTheMilk) to upgrade our old Animoto
account we opened in 2007. After making our first few videos, Tara
ended up making a second account and used that over the last year -
this second account upgraded for Animoto "all-access pass". In
addition to the longer videos, all-access allows you to download mp4s.
That is what I really like because we can add the videos to iTunes and
watch on our connected devices. I have been talking to more people
about Animoto lately. When I explain Animoto it's essential to show
them. (it's also most helpful to show people videos of their own
photos or at least experiences they can relate to - the emotional
response is important)

The one thing you can't do in front of the PC or iPhone is lean back
into videos. The biggest screen in the house (in our case a 52" LCD)
is how a family is entertained and share time together.

Tonight we tried refreshing our Animoto videos with high bit-rate
(i.e. DVD quality) downloads - a for fee option in the all-access
pass. We generated a few grams of carbon off the Amazon, Google and
Akamai grids (and poured a few bucks into the economy). Within 30
minutes and we were enjoying these videos in a way we never had
before. I think Saturday Night family Wii event has met it's match if
Apple buys Animoto. Animoto would be the exclusive killer app for the
Apple TV. I wonder how much I would pay for Season Pass to
StevensFive.TV (I still can't believe the Wii I just bought is
standard definition)