Thursday, January 15, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
our little echo
While I was reading to Adam on the couch, we came across a monkey a library book. He asked after the whereabouts of his (stuffed) monkey. After I told him it was in his bed, he said,
"jussa minute. I'll be right back."
And he was. With the monkey, of course.
"jussa minute. I'll be right back."
And he was. With the monkey, of course.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Siu et al Christmas 2008
absent: Kat, Kevin, Tiffany, Yee. We missed you guys!
not pictured: yours truly, the one behind the camera.
Very Tall Towers
Adam loves building "vehry vehry vehry tall tower"s. Here's one from around a month ago and one from over Christmas.
Hair
Hair has been quite a nuisance around here lately. Adam`s hair gets longer and longer as he simply refuses to let anyone cut it. A barber? God Forbid! The length can lead to some pretty wicked hat-head and bed-head. Since these photos were taken two months ago, I have managed to crop around the ears only, one clip at a time. Adam's getting really shaggy.
My own hair has been a nuisance too. Since Adam was born, it's been growing in, well, not straight. It's not curly, not wavy, but definitely messy. Just not straight. Not straight, like it used to be. Not straight, like I liked it. I wonder if there is a cut out there to cure it. But given my aversion to morning showers, hair products, and blow dryers, I'm not holding out much hope.
My own hair has been a nuisance too. Since Adam was born, it's been growing in, well, not straight. It's not curly, not wavy, but definitely messy. Just not straight. Not straight, like it used to be. Not straight, like I liked it. I wonder if there is a cut out there to cure it. But given my aversion to morning showers, hair products, and blow dryers, I'm not holding out much hope.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Now, the world (wide web) knows.
Number two is due around June 22nd. No word on names or whether it is a boy or a girl, nor are we going to "find out;" except that we already "know" it's a boy because Adam was the 20th boy in a row (on Dion's side, of course).
I just had my first ultrasound last week and luckily the tummy trouble finished just in time for Christmas feasting. I've been indulging even more than usual to make up for two months of crackers.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Pumpkin Patch and 18 month check up
I never figured us for a family-outing-to-the-pumpkin-patch-kind-of-family, but we're game for stuff that other people will organise and it was really fun. Thanks, Rebecca! Thanks also for remembering and lending your camera.
Adam started out really grouchy because
a) He was strapped into the car for so long. and
b) We arrived around 11:30, which is his natural nap time.
But after a short while, he really got into crawling between the pumpkins and finding compfy pumpkin "chairs." He also enjoyed the wagon ride from "Fia" (Sophia Caranci). I'm quite happy about how the blue coat contrasts with the pumpkins. I didn't plan it that way (this year) but I probably will in the future.
Also. At his 18 month-check up, Adam got his last two vaccinations until he's four (not counting flu, which we'll do again every year, probably). He was highly uncooperative with the weighing and measuring but the stats are 28 pounds (75th percentile) and 35 inches (99th + percentile). The old site I used to use to get more accurate percentiles now requires registration, so fuggetaboudit.
Adam started out really grouchy because
a) He was strapped into the car for so long. and
b) We arrived around 11:30, which is his natural nap time.
But after a short while, he really got into crawling between the pumpkins and finding compfy pumpkin "chairs." He also enjoyed the wagon ride from "Fia" (Sophia Caranci). I'm quite happy about how the blue coat contrasts with the pumpkins. I didn't plan it that way (this year) but I probably will in the future.
Also. At his 18 month-check up, Adam got his last two vaccinations until he's four (not counting flu, which we'll do again every year, probably). He was highly uncooperative with the weighing and measuring but the stats are 28 pounds (75th percentile) and 35 inches (99th + percentile). The old site I used to use to get more accurate percentiles now requires registration, so fuggetaboudit.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
caught red-handed
Adam thought that 10am was a better time for bath than after dinner. We had to do a whole proper bath because this soap will give him a nasty rash.
not as yummy as I was expecting.
O hey! Mom! Camera!
uh. We're all good, right? right? I'm smiling pretty, see?
not as yummy as I was expecting.
O hey! Mom! Camera!
uh. We're all good, right? right? I'm smiling pretty, see?
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
a cool moment
When I went to get Adam up from his nap yesterday afternoon, there was a bright, narrow sunbeam shining through his otherwise dark room. I showed it to him by passing my hand and his hand through it a few times.
"What is it, Adam?" I asked.
"Bubbles."
Bubbles? I looked closer and indeed the small specks of dust in the air were reflecting all the colours of the rainbow.
"What is it, Adam?" I asked.
"Bubbles."
Bubbles? I looked closer and indeed the small specks of dust in the air were reflecting all the colours of the rainbow.
Friday, October 03, 2008
I thought I understood exponents ...
until I asked my 12U students to make a conjecture about whether an odd or even function taken to a natural number power becomes odd, even, or neither. I didn't ask for a proof, it was just a little 2-mark thinking question.
In case you need reminding: x^2 is even because (-x)^2 = x^2. sin(x) is odd because sin(-x)=-sin*(x).
Anyway, it got me thinking: what does a real number exponent do to the symmetry? What does a real number exponent MEAN anyway? I thought I had a handle on rational number exponents. But even then, the domain (valid x values) gets messed up. And now my real problem (though not real enough for me to look up the "answer....")
What about irrational (or better yet, transcendental) exponents? I'd say, "Who cares? just approximate to a rational," but it comes up in polar coordinates all the time. e^ipi anyone? My graphing calculator seems to tell me that
x^2pi
(x^pi)^2
(x^2)^pi
are all different. Try a table of values. What does -0.7^2pi even MEAN? I don't know how to calculate that by hand. Excel should work for those lacking graphing calculators.
Actually: I was putting x^2pi into my calculator wrong. It's graphed the same as (x^2)^pi.
How's my calculator doing it anyway? Taking an approximation of pi, converting it to a rational, then doing the exponent? Then the different curves (domain aside) are simply artefacts of rounding errors that blow up due to exponentiation? Or Dion suggests that it might be interpolating between two nearby rationals. Rob thinks it probably depends on the calculator but likely it just chooses one nearby rational.
Maybe it all makes sense if exponents are seen as the inverse of logarithms (which were invented first, BTW). But then I would need to understand logarithms.
Discuss.
Uh yeah, whatever, Karen.
In case you need reminding: x^2 is even because (-x)^2 = x^2. sin(x) is odd because sin(-x)=-sin*(x).
Anyway, it got me thinking: what does a real number exponent do to the symmetry? What does a real number exponent MEAN anyway? I thought I had a handle on rational number exponents. But even then, the domain (valid x values) gets messed up. And now my real problem (though not real enough for me to look up the "answer....")
What about irrational (or better yet, transcendental) exponents? I'd say, "Who cares? just approximate to a rational," but it comes up in polar coordinates all the time. e^ipi anyone? My graphing calculator seems to tell me that
x^2pi
(x^pi)^2
(x^2)^pi
are all different. Try a table of values. What does -0.7^2pi even MEAN? I don't know how to calculate that by hand. Excel should work for those lacking graphing calculators.
Actually: I was putting x^2pi into my calculator wrong. It's graphed the same as (x^2)^pi.
How's my calculator doing it anyway? Taking an approximation of pi, converting it to a rational, then doing the exponent? Then the different curves (domain aside) are simply artefacts of rounding errors that blow up due to exponentiation? Or Dion suggests that it might be interpolating between two nearby rationals. Rob thinks it probably depends on the calculator but likely it just chooses one nearby rational.
Maybe it all makes sense if exponents are seen as the inverse of logarithms (which were invented first, BTW). But then I would need to understand logarithms.
Discuss.
Uh yeah, whatever, Karen.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Eating
So, I have read that toddlers start eating less when they hit a certain age. What is that age again? Adam could eat us out of house and home. (I exaggerate.) I bought $10 in fruit (nothing fancy at good prices) yesterday and not much is left. Despite eating a goodly amount earlier in the day, Adam ate at dinner roughly:
1 small pork chop shredded and soaked in gravy
.5 apple raw, sliced
8 strawberries
.5 peach
2 apples worth of apple sauce (That is, all of it. Dion and I got none)
30 minutes later, he washed it down with 7 or 8 ounces of whole milk. We had done bath before dinner while we waited for Dion to come home.
Oh and table manners? not so much. photo evidence below.
This is yoghurt-eating.
This is peek-a-boo.
Notice the tarp beneath and behind his chair.
can't quite make out the seventh tooth that appeared last week.
1 small pork chop shredded and soaked in gravy
.5 apple raw, sliced
8 strawberries
.5 peach
2 apples worth of apple sauce (That is, all of it. Dion and I got none)
30 minutes later, he washed it down with 7 or 8 ounces of whole milk. We had done bath before dinner while we waited for Dion to come home.
Oh and table manners? not so much. photo evidence below.
This is yoghurt-eating.
This is peek-a-boo.
Notice the tarp beneath and behind his chair.
can't quite make out the seventh tooth that appeared last week.Friday, September 05, 2008
Pals!
Karen, Stephanie, EvaAdam, Isabel, Jerett
on Jeff's Birthday. This was Jeff's last birthday:
Adam and Jerett. 17 weeks
Friday, August 22, 2008
words boring. pictures good.
The people have spoken. Or actually, not spoken. Here's your fix:
Ah luvs me a close-up series. Yes, I did exclude some. These are about a quarter of the shots I got at our new favourite playground on St. Mary Street almost two months ago.
I got scolded very abruptly and rudely at Indigo on Bay for using my camera in the store. No "please," "excuse me," or "sorry." Just "It's the law." Yeah right. You're worried about getting sued for copyright infringement or a patron/employee complaining about privacy violation. No one is being charged or sued for photographing her own son, fully dressed, in a public place. Sheesh.
On the swing at Allan Gardens. This hat gets a lot of "compliments." It's pretty outrageous.
PEEKABOO!
Ah luvs me a close-up series. Yes, I did exclude some. These are about a quarter of the shots I got at our new favourite playground on St. Mary Street almost two months ago.
I got scolded very abruptly and rudely at Indigo on Bay for using my camera in the store. No "please," "excuse me," or "sorry." Just "It's the law." Yeah right. You're worried about getting sued for copyright infringement or a patron/employee complaining about privacy violation. No one is being charged or sued for photographing her own son, fully dressed, in a public place. Sheesh.
On the swing at Allan Gardens. This hat gets a lot of "compliments." It's pretty outrageous.
PEEKABOO!
Monday, August 18, 2008
randomness
Let's see.
How to mince onions in a food processor. As tempting as it seems, do not use the grating tool. This produces onion puree. Rather, run it through the chopping tool twice. Incidentally, any ideas on what to do with 3 onions worth of onion puree?
Adam's bedtime habits. He's taken to kicking us out of his room with "'Night 'Night Bye Bye" and then proceeding to chat to himself or his seal or walls or something for a very long time. almost two hours once or twice. Tonight it was a only around twenty minutes but it was extra cute. At bedtime he commented on my wedding ring, "Ring!" And so, I started singing, "Ring Around the Rosy." "Again!" "Again!" "Again!" And so later we heard over the monitor: "ashes, ashes, dOWn" over and over again.
Back-to-School Dreams. The usual. not prepared for class in my dreams.
Adam's vocabulary. just for the record, i.e., boring. Words with an asterisk may not be intelligible to strangers but they are clear and consistent. Does not include words where he is merely repeating sounds from a poem or song. He also has two Cantonese words: tek (kick) and ma (wipe). I'm sure I'm forgetting some but whatever. I thought I'd attempt a list before it becomes uncountable. I think I'm happy that mine, me, and Adam don't yet appear on the list.
food/kitchen: bread*, noodle, rice, cereal*, beef, chicken*, fish, egg, bean, broccoli*, onion*, avocado, grapes*, banana, peel, orange*, melon, blueberry, strawberry*, plum, peach, apple*, cheese, milk, yogurt (25), fork, knife, spoon*, bowl, lid, cup*, bottle*, bib, tray*, pot, whisk*, hot, warm (13)
animals: dog, cat, bird, squirrel*, duck, turtle, pig, chicken (only counts once), horse, goat, cow, sheep, whale, lion*, bear*, crocodile*, fox*, monkey*, bunny rabbit* (18), moo, baa, oink*, ruff ruff, bow wow, meow, neigh, roar, tttt* (9)
people: baby, Daddy, Mum, Norm, Matthew*, Dave, George* (7) It was clear but we haven't seen him in a while; so, I'm not counting Rob.
body: hair, head, eyes, ears, nose, cheeks, lips, mouth*, teeth, tongue, arm, (finger) tips, (belly) button*, penis*, bum, leg, knee, toes (18) hat, coat*, shirt*, pants*, diaper*, socks*, shoes* (7)
bath: bath, soap*, pee, pooh, flush, (tooth) brush, (tooth) paste*, comb, towel, wash (10)
"toys": toy, baby (doll), book, disk, blocks, ball, balloon, magnet*, keys, phone*, seal*, choo choo (train), car, truck, beep-beep (15)
other nouns: garbage (can)*, chair*, wall*, door, pillow*, blanket*, zipper*, snap*, button*, piano*, guitar*, ring, light, swing*, moon, money*, wallet*, time (means clock), pen (19)
numerals: 9, 10 (2)
exclamations: yes, no, no-no, hi, bye bye, hello*, again*, more, uh-oh, oops, 'night-'night, please, gesundheit*, help* (14)
particles: up, down, back, this, that (5)
actions: pull, push*, press*, hug*, crash*, close*, open*, sneeze, rock, sit (11)
other adjectives: nice*, silly, mad*, loud, (at/gone) home, wet, mess (7)
Total: 150 English, 2 Cantonese. This is about double what I was expecting to count.
How to mince onions in a food processor. As tempting as it seems, do not use the grating tool. This produces onion puree. Rather, run it through the chopping tool twice. Incidentally, any ideas on what to do with 3 onions worth of onion puree?
Adam's bedtime habits. He's taken to kicking us out of his room with "'Night 'Night Bye Bye" and then proceeding to chat to himself or his seal or walls or something for a very long time. almost two hours once or twice. Tonight it was a only around twenty minutes but it was extra cute. At bedtime he commented on my wedding ring, "Ring!" And so, I started singing, "Ring Around the Rosy." "Again!" "Again!" "Again!" And so later we heard over the monitor: "ashes, ashes, dOWn" over and over again.
Back-to-School Dreams. The usual. not prepared for class in my dreams.
Adam's vocabulary. just for the record, i.e., boring. Words with an asterisk may not be intelligible to strangers but they are clear and consistent. Does not include words where he is merely repeating sounds from a poem or song. He also has two Cantonese words: tek (kick) and ma (wipe). I'm sure I'm forgetting some but whatever. I thought I'd attempt a list before it becomes uncountable. I think I'm happy that mine, me, and Adam don't yet appear on the list.
food/kitchen: bread*, noodle, rice, cereal*, beef, chicken*, fish, egg, bean, broccoli*, onion*, avocado, grapes*, banana, peel, orange*, melon, blueberry, strawberry*, plum, peach, apple*, cheese, milk, yogurt (25), fork, knife, spoon*, bowl, lid, cup*, bottle*, bib, tray*, pot, whisk*, hot, warm (13)
animals: dog, cat, bird, squirrel*, duck, turtle, pig, chicken (only counts once), horse, goat, cow, sheep, whale, lion*, bear*, crocodile*, fox*, monkey*, bunny rabbit* (18), moo, baa, oink*, ruff ruff, bow wow, meow, neigh, roar, tttt* (9)
people: baby, Daddy, Mum, Norm, Matthew*, Dave, George* (7) It was clear but we haven't seen him in a while; so, I'm not counting Rob.
body: hair, head, eyes, ears, nose, cheeks, lips, mouth*, teeth, tongue, arm, (finger) tips, (belly) button*, penis*, bum, leg, knee, toes (18) hat, coat*, shirt*, pants*, diaper*, socks*, shoes* (7)
bath: bath, soap*, pee, pooh, flush, (tooth) brush, (tooth) paste*, comb, towel, wash (10)
"toys": toy, baby (doll), book, disk, blocks, ball, balloon, magnet*, keys, phone*, seal*, choo choo (train), car, truck, beep-beep (15)
other nouns: garbage (can)*, chair*, wall*, door, pillow*, blanket*, zipper*, snap*, button*, piano*, guitar*, ring, light, swing*, moon, money*, wallet*, time (means clock), pen (19)
numerals: 9, 10 (2)
exclamations: yes, no, no-no, hi, bye bye, hello*, again*, more, uh-oh, oops, 'night-'night, please, gesundheit*, help* (14)
particles: up, down, back, this, that (5)
actions: pull, push*, press*, hug*, crash*, close*, open*, sneeze, rock, sit (11)
other adjectives: nice*, silly, mad*, loud, (at/gone) home, wet, mess (7)
Total: 150 English, 2 Cantonese. This is about double what I was expecting to count.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
protovocabulary - this time Dion's
I've noticed that Dion answers to Baba as automatically as he does to Daddy. Dion's noticed too.
I've been meaning to post Adam's vocabulary before he gets dangerously close to the 18-month explosion. I'm guessing 50 to 100 spoken words that are intelligible to me. Maybe I do it after my course finishes tomorrow.
I've been meaning to post Adam's vocabulary before he gets dangerously close to the 18-month explosion. I'm guessing 50 to 100 spoken words that are intelligible to me. Maybe I do it after my course finishes tomorrow.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
fantasticcontraption.com
Thanks Kevin, thanks Sharkey. I've lost sleep I'll have you know. If you want to lose sleep also, try: fantasticcontraption.com.
Move the pink object into the pink goal area with sticks, wheels, and motors placed within the blue box. Dion built a catapult but I like my simpler device better.
SCENARIO: "Unpossible"
INITIAL CONDITIONS
FINAL CONDITIONS
Move the pink object into the pink goal area with sticks, wheels, and motors placed within the blue box. Dion built a catapult but I like my simpler device better.
SCENARIO: "Unpossible"
INITIAL CONDITIONS
FINAL CONDITIONS
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
summer fun videos
Sorry I haven't been blogging. I've been working a lot on a summer course but got a little respite yesterday and I took the day off.
Adam and I spent almost the entire day with Clare and Rebecca yesterday. Over the course of about 6.2 km of walking, we managed to lose and retrieve my keys and Clare's bunny and to get two half-hour naps out of Clare and one one-hour nap out of Adam.
During Clare's morning nap, Adam managed to get himself seated and stuck on their wheelbarrow. He was asking for help down by the time I got their Flip. I was really surprised that Adam understood me so well. He understands so much these days. We also got some footage on the swings at Withrow Park.
"Down" Scene II
Adam and I spent almost the entire day with Clare and Rebecca yesterday. Over the course of about 6.2 km of walking, we managed to lose and retrieve my keys and Clare's bunny and to get two half-hour naps out of Clare and one one-hour nap out of Adam.
During Clare's morning nap, Adam managed to get himself seated and stuck on their wheelbarrow. He was asking for help down by the time I got their Flip. I was really surprised that Adam understood me so well. He understands so much these days. We also got some footage on the swings at Withrow Park.
"Down" Scene I.
"Down" Scene II
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
mental models
A fellow student in my Honour's Specialist Physics course online quoted Edward F. Redish with:
"Mental models tend to minimize expenditure of mental energy. People will
often do extra physical activities -- sometimes very time-consuming and difficult -- in
order to avoid a little bit of serious thinking."
Sooooo true. It may frustrate me that my students refuse to THINK about their answers, the lab, my question, and so on but I can be equally guilty - in my lesson planning (not much, I hope!) and every day life: cooking, filing ....
"Mental models tend to minimize expenditure of mental energy. People will
often do extra physical activities -- sometimes very time-consuming and difficult -- in
order to avoid a little bit of serious thinking."
Sooooo true. It may frustrate me that my students refuse to THINK about their answers, the lab, my question, and so on but I can be equally guilty - in my lesson planning (not much, I hope!) and every day life: cooking, filing ....
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