• Cool Tool: StrollAway on Cool Tools: "... Once we got this hook, rather than just parking our stroller in the kitchen or dining room, we created a set, out-of-the-way place to store it. And since it's off the floor, that gives us more space to fill up with more baby stuff. The hook is strong (we have a Quinny Buzz stroller, which weighs abouts 15 lbs.). It doesn't require drilling or mounting into anything, since it hangs over the top a door....." Great idea.
• SightSpeed Goes Mainstream with Dell Video Chat « on Web Worker Daily: "... The SightSpeed software installed easily on my Mac, and the video conversation with Mr. Csathy was crisp, smooth and effortless as compared to any I’ve tried with Skype. He had a fancy headset, but I was just using the MacBook Pro’s built-in speakers and microphone. For once, video conferencing felt approachable to me beyond Apple iChat...." This article has a good screen cap of the theme that Dell applied to SightSpeed's software. [ Found out about the Dell / SightSpeed deal from friend Andy Abramson ]
• Access And Share Files With Box.net on The Apple Phone Show: "I have tried several online file store and share solutions since getting my iPhone almost a year ago now. Box.net seems to be the one application that has endured time. I like using it to store and share my most important files and collaborate on work. I’m still getting used to moving my workflow entirely online. I am used to have files that I can access stored locally on all of my devices. But, times they are ‘a changing. The reason I think I have continued using this service and have let others fall by the wayside is because the interface is so simple...." I have to try this.
• iPhone as Pedometer on Inside iPhone: "A short while ago, I discovered that Wii Fit could be used to track my progress as I walked on a treadmill. Wii Fit has a game where you jog in place in front of your TV to travel through a virtual landscape. Instead of bouncing up and down on the floor, I put my wiimote in my pocket, hopped on the treadmill and had a much better virtual exercise experience. And of course this got me thinking: if the wii can track movement, why can't the iPhone do the same?" Cool idea. Interesting execution.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 4:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My son Jimmy is a working baby.

He has some of his happiest times when I put him in our Babybjorn Baby Active Carrier and carry him around the house and the yard while doing chores. Last night, my wife Kathleen needed a break after she took care of Jimmy all day so I could work and go to a memorial service for the brother of a friend of mine. I took Jimmy in the Baby Active Carrier and he helped me take out the garbage, organize the weekly recycling, and haul all of it to the curb in front of our house.

Jimmy's almost five months old now. I think he likes the Baby Active Carrier at his age because he can face forward and see what I see as we walk around and do our chores. I can talk to him very quietly and tell him why we put the cans and bottles into a green garbage can, and the cardboard boxes into big, shallow aluminum container. All the time we keep moving and seeing colorful things.

Another place Kathleen and I love to use the Baby Active Carrier to carry Jimmy is at Wegmans Food Markets in our area. Wegmans just opened a huge new store in Warrington, PA, about 10 minutes from our house. If you've never been to a Wegmans, their markets are probably as large as big box stores like The Home Depot, but probably not as large as a Wal-mart Supercenter. Wegmans really puts an emphasis on creative meal planning, and their prices for supermarket staples are better than average for our area, so we've gone a bit out of our way to do our weekly shopping there for several years.

Anyway, Jimmy likes being able to walk around with one of us and see what we choose to put in our cart. It's a big enough store where we need a way to carry Jimmy that doubles as entertainment for him, and he's too small for the carts that have truck front ends that young children like to ride in.

Jimmy's not to a point where he can crawl yet, so we have to work at keeping him entertained while carrying him around the house. The BabyBjorn Baby Active Carrier gives is another transportation option for us. We don't use it in lieu of a stroller, but as a stroller supplement. As you can see from this article, it also gives us a way to bring Jimmy along during our daily activities that's fun for him, and that made it worth the investment for us.

A lot of people call carriers like the BabyBjorn Baby Active Carrier a snuggli, but that's a trademark associated with Evenflow's baby carriers of a similar design. I'm sure that those products are useful as well, but I don't have experience owning and using it.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)