Just two from this weekend. Taken with the Nikon D700 and a Nikon 85mm 1.8. I’m still lusting for the 85mm 1.4.
Opinions And Ramblings By Adam Kmiec On All Things Media
Tag Archive: Cora
Parenting
It’s tough being a parent. It’s tough to know when to push them, when to let them fly, when to offer advice, when to let them make mistakes, when to coddle and when to be stern. When you do these things is different based on each kid, each situation and each day. There’s a lot of variables to consider and you make a lot of mistakes. You make mistakes all the time. You’d think you’d learn from those mistakes, but no situation is ever the same…you never run into a situation twice. They are all unique.
The relationship you have with your parents changes all the time. One minute they are a disciplinarian, the next your friend, the next your confidant. There were days I wanted to kill my parents and run away from home. Then there were days where I was so thankful that I had such amazing parents.
It’s interesting to go from being someone’s child to having children. You swear that you’ll do things different and better. But, there’s no manual to make sure you’re a great parent. There’s a lot of trial and error. It can be a frustrating experience because you want so much to do the right thing, but you’re never 100% sure what the right thing is.
But, you try. You try to be the best you can be. You try to provide the best guidance you can. And eventually you have to trust that your kids are going to make the right decisions. After all, you’ve given them the foundation. That’s what I love about my parents. They’ve always offered me advice, but trusted that I’d make the right decision because of my strong foundation. Now, the number of times I’ve screwed up, made a mistake or done the opposite of what they’ve asked for is immeasurable. And yet, they’re always supportive. They’re always willing to listen, offer advice and when needed console.
I hope to have the same strength, insight and penchant for knowing when to push them, when to let them fly, when to offer advice, when to let them make mistakes, when to coddle and when to be stern. I hope that one day I prove to be the type of parent I’ve been fortunate to have.
If anyone comes across an official manual, please send it my way!
Why? And Why Not?
I love the inquisitive nature of children. Every answer to a question leads to another question which leads to another and another. After an hour long conversation with a child you can find yourself feeling like Alice looking up from the depths of the rabbit hole. Granted, I don’t see my three year old solving business problems…just yet, there’s definitely something I’ve come to appreciate about the way her mind works.
Cora, my daughter, has the ability to straddle why and why not. She’ll ask why until you run out of answers. It’s that curiosity we often lack in our day to day lives. Too often we’re willing to accept the answers we receive and the status quo. After all, it’s easier to accept things for what they are, instead of asking why do they need to be that way? She challenges, pokes, prods, inspects, examines and finally finds satisfaction with the situation. I wish I could bottle up these years and spoon feed them to her in 25 years when life and work beats her into submission.
However, this skepticism, this need to know, this need for concrete answers doesn’t stop her from believing in the seemingly impossible. She switches gears with the swiftness of a race car driver and shifts into why not mode. Why can’t I wear pajamas to school? Why can’t I have breakfast for dinner? Indeed, why not? From her perspective nothing is set in stone, everything is an option, and she can do most anything. There eventually comes a point where we stop thinking why not? We stop believing in the amazing and accept that the only way to play it, is to play it safe. It’s a sad fact, but we often find ourselves no longer willing or able to dare to dream.
Yeah, kids can learn a lot from us. They’re always willing to learn. But, if you listen to them every once in a while, you just might yourself relearning how to think like a kid. And you know what? That’s a good thing.
Cora’s First Haircut
When you have kids, you get to experience a lot of firsts. There’s the steps, words, dates and so much more. Today, I got to experience another first. Cora had her first haircut today…just a little trim.
I used some high grain (ISO 800) for this and no Flash. I just love the how gritty the picture processed and how serious Cora looked.
Cora Turns 3
Today, Cora turned 3. Her birthday somehow coincided with wear your bathing suit to school day. We celebrated her birthday with friends and Family on Sunday. It’s amazing to see how quickly they grow up. It’s almost as if it were yesterday when she was just learning how to crawl. Now she’s running and jumping around. Time flies.
The Real iPad Review
I bought my nearly 3 year old daughter an iPad this morning. Yeap, I walked right up to the Apple Store at the Mall of America and waited behind 6 other people to purchase the iPad. She loves it. She absolutely loves the iPad. Since the moment I placed it in her hands she hasn’t put it down.
Is the iPad a killer device? Is it a game changing device? Will you love it? The simple answer is YES…so long as you have the mindset of a 3 year old. Harsh? Yes. But, it’s the truth. Let me break it down.
The iPad is literally a larger version of the iPhone. When I say literally, I literally mean literally. Everything the iPhone can do, the iPad can do. Or rather everything the iPhone can’t do, the iPad can’t do…and it can do even less than the iPhone 3Gs.
Do you like a linear approach for doing things? If so, the iPad is perfect for you. Everything about the iPad interface is linear. Every desired final action is accomplished through a series of taps. Want to read a book? Cool. Tap the home button. Tap the iBook app. Tap the library view. Tap the book you want to read. Hopefully, you’re getting the point. Some will call this brilliant. I call it rudimentary and lacking, especially when you consider that you’ll be doing a lot of tapping since there is STILL no multi-tasking functionality. Yes, just like the iPhone, you can’t switch between apps. If you’re watching a movie and want to tweet a comment about it, you’ll need to exit the movie app, switch to the twitter app, tweet away, close the twitter app, re-launch the movie app, tap to resume the movie…etc. We’re on the 3rd evolution of the iPhone and the 1st evolution of the iPad…and we still have NO multi-tasking capabilities.
The iPad, by design (weight, size, etc.) competes directly against netbooks. You’ll find that that iPad costs significantly more than most netbooks, but lacks basic computing features that have been around for more than 20 years. For example, you will not be able to create folders, move files between folders, rename files, edit files, upload a file, download a file, etc. Sad. Remember when I said it lacks features that even the iPhone 3Gs has? Well, the big one is and integrated camera. The iPad was tailor made for video conferencing, video streaming, video chatting, etc. But, Apple opted to eliminate this feature. Ugh.
The screen is beautiful, bright, vibrant, full of rich colors and a joy to look at it. Unless of course you’ve used it for more than a minute. Just like an iPhone you’ll find yourself wanting/needing to clean the screen every 10 minutes. Except, unlike the iPhone, you won’t be using your shirt or pants to do so 
Oh, and unlike the iPhone, Apple opted NOT to include a screen cleaner. Just lame.
Sounds coming from the built-in speakers are acceptable. They’re no substitute for your computer speakers, headphones, or home theater. But, they do the job when it’s quiet. However, when my nearly one year old was in the room creating more ambient noise, it was difficult to clearly hear the dialog in the movie Coraline. Keep in mind, this was when the speakers were turned all the way up.
Apple talks about the size of the iPad as a positive feature. I agree and disagree. Is the the iPad sleek? Yes! Is it thin? You bet! Is it contoured nicely? Yeaper! But, it’s still large and not portable by any stretch of the imagination. You won’t be grabbing for your iPad every time you’re headed out. That’s an unrealistic expectation anyway. But, even if you’re a traveler, like me, you’ll think twice. Why? Because you’re already traveling with your iPhone (or in my case a Nexus One) and your laptop. Do you really need both of those and a iPad on the plane? Can you imagine having yet another item to get through the airport security line? Oyve!
As a substitute for a book, I find it lacking. Here’s why. One, you’d never read with it by the pool because the outside light is too blinding and you can’t get the iPad wet. Two, you’d never read with it in the tub because just as with a pool, you don’t want to get it wet. Three, would you really take it into the bathroom to read like the 71% of people who indicated they read in the bathroom? I didn’t think so. All that aside, the most maddening thing is their are simply way too many options for books on the iPad. This is a true example of the Paradox of Choice. Seriously. You have your Kindle books. You have your iBooks. You have 3rd party books like the Cat in The Hat that sit on the screen like apps. You also have content category aggregator apps like the Marvel Comic Book app. Each of these apps requires you to have a unique login and each manages the content purchased in that app separately from the rest of the apps. What does that mean? That means there is no ONE app to see ALL your books. You need to manage book libraries across multiple apps. Add in magazine and newspaper apps and you have chaos.
One of the coolest features of the iPad unfortunately requires a $29.99 adaptor. You can setup the iPad to be a digital picture frame. I love this idea especially when you consider the cost of many high quality digital picture frames. But, requiring an incremental $29.99 investment is just adding insult to injury.
No USB, no camera, no replaceable battery, no ability to create content and heck no cleaning cloth. I could deal with all of these shortcomings and flaws if the price was something like $349.99 (in line with iPod Touch), but not at $499.99 (minimum). At $349.99 it would be a nice affordable stretch and step up from an iPod and complimentary to a laptop. But, at $499.99 I just don’t see how a current iPhone or MabBook user will find value in a device that does less than both of those devices.
This of course begs the question, why did I buy one? Two reasons. One, my job and why I’m good at it, is to be on and ahead of trend. I need to understand what technology can do, can’t do, will do and might do for our clients. Having an iPad in the house will help me do that. Two, I genuinely believe as FastCompany does, that kids today will benefit from tools like the iPad.
Let’s just be honest for a second. What need does the iPad deliver on? What consumer problem does it solve? The answer to both is nothing. It’s essentially a bright shiny Apple object and that’s exactly why you’ll buy it. However, what I think you’ll find is that just like so many other bright shiny objects, you’ll be bored with it fairly quickly. Unless of course you’re a 3 year old; then you’ll love it and never want to put it down.
UPDATED: April 5, 2010
Is my review harsh? Possibly. Is it fair? Absolutely. I thought you might want to check out what some other industry leaders, who aren’t blinded by the bright shiny Apply object syndrome, had to say about the iPad.
Dave Winer
“Today it’s something to play with, not something to use. That’s the kind way to say it. The direct way: It’s a toy.”
Jeff Jarvis
“I tweeted earlier that after having slept with her (Ms. iPad), I woke up with morning-after regrets. She’s sweet and pretty but shallow and vapid.” and “The iPad is retrograde. It tries to turn us back into an audience again. That is why media companies and advertisers are embracing it so fervently, because they think it returns us all to their good old days when we just consumed, we didn’t create, when they controlled our media experience and business models and we came to them.”
BusinessWeek
“People who predicted that the iPad would kill the market for dedicated E-Ink readers are dead wrong. If anything, the iPad is the amazing, magical device that proves the value of E-Ink.
Don’t believe me? Take an iPad to the beach someday and try to spend the afternoon reading. You’ll be lucky if you can see around your own reflection long enough to finish a paragraph of text.”
David Pogue
“There’s no multitasking, either. It’s one app at a time, just like on the iPhone. Plus no U.S.B. jacks and no camera. Bye-bye, Skype video chats. You know Apple is just leaving stuff out for next year’s model.
The bottom line is that you can get a laptop for much less money — with a full keyboard, DVD drive, U.S.B. jacks, camera-card slot, camera, the works. Besides: If you’ve already got a laptop and a smartphone, who’s going to carry around a third machine?”
Ahhh Easter
Every once in a while I like to stop talking about marketing, advertising, the web, social, etc. and talk about my two awesome kids, Cora and John. People always claim to have the cutest kids in the world. But, I think it’s safe to say, we all know mine are the cutest.
I know it’s not a competition, but it’s still nice to know mine are the cutest Happy Easter!
Books For Bowling
Today, we played hard for charity. The Junior League in Minneapolis organized great event today, Bowling For Books. It’s simple, really. You bring in your books. You trade them in so that kids who are less fortunate can have books. You eat pizza. You drink beer (well the kids didn’t). And, you bowl.
This was Cora and John’s first time bowling. I have to say, they were quite brave. There was no ramp and no bumper guards. Nope. We don’t use enablers or crutches at my house
I love bowling. It’s a simple activity that anyone can play regardless of age. As I was meeting all these new people and watching all these people engage with one another it reminded me of something very important. Real connections, real relationships and real conversations are way better than virtual ones on twitter, Facebook and the like. I mean think about it. You can’t share a beer virtually and have the same REAL effect. That alone makes it a more meaningful activity.
Get out from behind the computer, put the Nexus One down and start engaging in real life. You just might like it.
As you can see from the photos and video below, we had a great time.
What Christmas Is All About
I’ve always been a fan of the grand gesture. The grand gesture is something so big that it’s completely memorable years later. As I thought about what to get Cora this year for Christmas, I really wanted to ger her something that she would look back on years later and say, “I remember that Christmas when I was 2 and you got me…” Picking a present that memorable is pretty damn hard.
After considering many options, I finally decided on building her a ball pit. I mean seriously, what kid wouldn’t want their own ball pit? This ended up being much more difficult than I thought. The “pit” portion was insanely easy thanks to Amazon. But, trying to find the balls proved to be problematic. Based on the calculator on this site, I knew I needed somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 balls. So of course I turned to Amazon. The cost of the balls was cheap, but the shipping was insane. By insane, I mean we are talking $800.00 for shipping. Nuts. That meant I had to go old school. I went to Target. They sell balls in 150 pack quantities and the per ball cost was actually cheaper than Amazon. Awesome, right? Well, not so fast.
Not every Target carries the balls and the ones that do rarely have more than 4 packages on shelf. Hmm…well over the course of 4 weeks I hit up a variety of Target stores and finally had enough balls.
So we’ve got the balls and the pit. But, we need something to blow up on the pit. I thought I had a blower that would work. It didn’t. So, on December 23rd, it was off to Target again to get a blower that would work. I had tried Wal-Mart earlier in the day, but that didn’t work out. Can you believe it, they didn’t carry one. Oh well, there loss is Target’s gain.
It took roughly 30 minutes to pump up the pit and fill it with the balls. All told we used 2,250 balls. I’ve got an extra 5 bags of balls just in case we need it at some point. If you have kids I highly recommend this. The cost is fairly manageable and the experience will last a long time. When you see the joy on your kid’s face, you know you’ve nailed it.
Happy Halloween
We enjoyed the trick or treating…hope you did too.
About
Interactive marketer, innovator, boat rocker, continuous learner, movie lover, risk taker, dad and all around good guy. I'm always up for a spirited conversation. These are my thoughts and ramblings, not those of my employer.Learn More »
