Sequel

Written on 29 April 2010:

Late last night Holly started contracting. The contractions were 20 minutes apart, then 10, and then by 1 AM this morning, they were 5 minutes apart. Of course I only know this because Holly was wisely adamant with me. Her first request to time the length of her contractions were met with half-hearted efforts. "How long was that one?" she asked, her back to me. I had fallen back asleep and had no idea how long the contraction was. Like a good engineer, I took what I considered to be an educated guess. "4 minutes." Something in her response made it clear the contraction was nowhere near 4 minutes long and I was suddenly motivated to get a watch and start taking my job seriously.

By 4 AM we were at the hospital, hoping we could stay and not be turned away. Holly was dilated to a 3. After an hour she was at a 4 and they admitted us. Things moved quickly from there. By 6 AM she had an epidural and was dilated to an 8. It wasn't long before she was at a 10, but due to the common Strep B infection for which Holly needed anti-biotics, and needed to stay on them for at least 4 hours before delivery, the doctors and nurses held her off for at least that long. Finally, at 9 AM, the doctor broke her water and ten minutes later McKenzie Barlow was born. 7 lb 8.5 oz, 18 in long. She was so cute. The biggest surprise was her hair. It was so dark that it prompted on nurse to comment, "usually we only see this kind of hair on hispanic babies." Her hair was also very even, like a freshly mowed lawn. We're so glad she's here. What a surprise that she came two weeks early. I guess she was just as excited to meet us as we were to meet her. Welcome to our home McKenzie.

Fond Farewell

Happy First.

(Photos courtesy of Bekki Klein)

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The things that make babies laugh

One day while I was changing a messy diaper I said, "Peee-Eww" and completely unexpectedly Abby started cracking up. It was too cute of a laugh not to try again, and here's what I got.

Maybe next year.

We all knew the Cavs weren't that good. By the way, did anyone notice how many different puppet commercials Nike aired during that last Lakers game? I guess the milk was going bad and they had to down the whole carton before the expiration date.

On a more positive note, congrats to Kobe and team on a perfectly played game. Best of luck in the Finals.

Thoughts on Speed Limits

A policeman wrote me up today for driving 35 in a 25 (In a bit of irony, it was for speeding on the same residential street where last week I bit the dust when my wife made me prove to her I could run faster than Michael Scott by sprinting past an LCD speed sign put there to warn people to drive slower!). The story is I was in a lose-lose situation. My California plates had expired last week so I decided it was time to register the car in Utah. Of course, at the DMV I was told I needed both the car title and a safety and emissions test before that could happen. And of course I didn’t have either. So when a policeman pulled behind me later that afternoon, I had a decision to make. Either I slow to 25 mph and reek of guilt, or I pretend I don’t notice and drive like normal so he doesn’t suspect anything. Well, I drove like normal and got busted. Warning for the registration, ticket for speeding, not bad.

Here’s the thing that bothers me. The officer emphasized twice that I had passed two 25 mph speed limit signs on that road (which I happen to be on for 2 blocks). I couldn’t argue that. I did notice them, but I didn’t heed them. Here’s why.

It’s because I don’t believe in speed limit signs.

Speed limit signs are an attempt to treat the symptoms of an almost incurable disease called poor city planning. When a residential road gradually becomes an arterial, more people drive on it and speeds increase. Since concrete and asphalt are fairly permanent, the only way to patch the problem is with a speed limit sign. City planners should take advice from Julie Larsen-Green, the main architect of the Microsoft 2007 Office Suite and one of the core Windows 7 design managers. Windows should be a “system with manners,” she says, “not one that constantly interrupts with bubbles, boxes and warnings that, data showed, people ignored or raced to close.” Our streets should be the same way. Design roads and communities such that the street layout dictates the speed limit. Narrow roads for slower speeds, wider roads for faster speeds, and so on. But because software is easier to fix than roads, we have to live with the patches. And occasionally, they make us pay.