Ouch! School Buses Hurt

I've had a variety of accidents involving traffic while commuting on my bike. Usually, this involves moving traffic, which generally doesn't hurt to badly because I'm moving as well and I've only had 1 head-on, but after the initial bump, I was in the air for that one (and hitting the ground isn't bad).

Today, I got cut off by a school bus while I was trying to change lanes. I slowed down, then cut behind the bus to get over to the next lane. Just then (good 'ol murphy) the bus stopped abruptly as the driver had missed the fact that the light was red. I glanced off the rear bumper of the bus with such force that my handlebars broke off, my wheel got demolished, and the trunk attached to the back of my bike ended up in the intersection. I also caught some of the bus. My shoulder took the full impact, knocking me off my bike, in the air, and landing me flat on my back. Fortunately for me, the SUV behind me was able to brake quickly enough to avoid running me over. Parts of my bike were scattered for 20-30' from behind the bus to the intersection. I picked myself up, quickly collected the pieces of my bike, then hobbled to the side of the road where I reassembled my bike. I made it in to work only 10 minutes late, searched for 20minutes to find a first aid kit, then treated my wounds and started the day. My socks are a little bloody. My shoulder and ankle are swollen. Overall, I'm doing quite well. If the bar-ends on my handlebars hadn't been there, I would have received a debilitating wound as my fingers were crushed at 23 MPH against the bus' bumper. Thank God for small favors.

The moral of the story is: Don't underestimate the affect of differential velocities.
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When traveling fast, the bigger object wins.
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Bar-ends aren't just for looks.

Quick NOTE

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Side note: Sprint, Verizon or TMobile?

Sprint
Pros: Unlocked phones, cheap data, cheap plans, early evening calling
Cons: ...

Verizon
Pros: Excellent reliability
Cons: ridiculous plan cost, terrible data, slow custom phone OS

TMobile
Pros: Good internetwork communication, Home Hotspot, WiFi calling
Cons: Plan costs, few available features

Thoughts? Preferences? Trials? Tribulations?

Christmas Presents

It's usually very difficult to buy Christmas presents for me. If I know what I want... I get it myself. Well, this year I have a very LARGE want that I can't just up and get for myself (so money would be a good gift this year). I want to get a camcorder to record the daily cuteness of my little girl and snippets of daily life that people may find interesting.

What does that involve?

• Panasonic SDC-HD5 ($700 after employee discount)
  
• Vegas Movie Studio Platinum ($130)
  
• 2x Class 6, 8GB SD Memory Cards ($60 each)
  
• Battery of Ridiculousness ($170)
• VW-PT2 or Similar Portable HardDrive w/ SD Quickcopy ($150-200)

Summary:
Essential parts: $1k
Essential parts+: $1.2k

What do I get with all this? Family videos that will last.

Baby Baby Baby!!!

Oooooh my word. I have the most beautiful child I have ever seen. She has a smile that will liquify your heart and make it come out your eyes... hm, maybe I should jump on that. Maybe I could get some HD video of her and use it for heart transplants... far less painful. ;)

So, what is it like to be a father? WHY DOES EVERYONE ASK ME THAT?!?!?!? It's like breathing. It's natural, feels good, and if not controlled properly, ends up giving you a really hard time. Annabelle is beautiful and happy. She's the happiest baby I've seen. She doesn't cry through hiccups, she tolerates a fair amount of jostling when we're changing her diapers (which I then have to rinse out because they are cloth), and, just like her papa, she LOVES the outdoors. She can be pitching the worst fit ever, but take her into the sun and BOOM... happy baby.

She's doing all sorts of cute baby-type stuff. Her delicate (and amazingly well-formed/intricate) hands are always exploring. She touches my face and smiles, then wiggles a little and clenches, then opens her tiny little fist. I took her out to the bushes in the backyard and played with the leaves for a while in front of her face, then she, with great effort and many failed attempts, reached out and took hold of the branch, then wiggled it a little and withdrew, staring at the magic of our typical greenery.

When I stroke her head, or touch her little nose, she smiles with her papa's big smile to let us know that we're doing a good job. She eats a lot... every 4 hrs or so. It's amazing.

Also amazing is the number of times she pees and poos. Somehow, 1 oz of milk turns into 15oz of waste product. Friggin amazing. Another thing that is amazing, is the fact that I don't mind the stinky poos smell, nor did I have a hard time helping Cheryl deliver. Blood, poo, pee, and other bodily fluids associated with birth and babies really don't bother me. All this time, I thought blood was my issue, but it turns out it's the sterile smell of hospital plastic. Since we had the birth at home, I had no problems. I even cut the umbilical cord myself.

Sleep isn't an issue either. She sleeps like I did all the way through my homeschool experience. Tons of high energy activity followed by a nap... repeat all day and through the night. I've been getting plenty of sleep at odd hours and feel better than ever!! (Though I'm not sure how this is going to work once I have to work around Thomson's "core hours".) I may just need to extend my lunch period for a mid-day nap...