Binkies in the Man Cave

On car blogsite Jalopnik, there was a recent post regarding the Ten Vehicles that Bankrupted GM.  Interestingly, one model was mentioned because it was too successful, and all the cars looked alike, yet other models were mentioned because they looked too different.

In the spirit of Jalopnik, I'd like to present the top government bad ideas that bankrupted GM:

FlexFuel

Burn the food supply.  Brilliant!  Not only did taxpayers heavily subsidize the fuel to make it affordable, the price of food increased, and the FlexFuel cars are more expensive than their standard versions (the fuel systems in FlexFuel vehicles need different components so the ethanol doesn't corrode the fittings).  There used to be a couple E85 pumps in my area, but they've been converted back to normal fuel.

Description at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/flextech.shtml.

CAFE (fleet) standards

CAFE stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy, and is a joint NHTSA/EPA regulation (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.d0b5a45b55bfbe582f57529cdba046a0/).  Basically, this rule forces corporations who build good trucks which meet class MPG standards for trucks to also build small vehicles people may not be interested n buying.  So, a company, like say GM/Dodge, can't specialize in their great trucks without keeping the unprofitable (and now closed) Plymouth line around.  Honda and Toyota build great fuel efficient cars and cars pretending to be trucks, GMC builds solid trucks and mediocre cars.  Let each do their thing, and let the market do what it will.  Pickups make more sense in my rural area, and Priuses (Prii?) make more sense in Chicago.  Class standards, fine, but get rid of CAFE.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and these two ideas put GM solidly on that road.

Precious Little One has entered into the monkey-see-monkey-do phase of life.  This means she no longer wants the trappings of a baby, especially plastic cutlery and bowls.  Instead, she wants what we use.  Our flatware is just too big for her, not that she doesn't try.

On a recent trip to Ikea, we found the perfect solution--coffee spoons!  The Dragon coffee spoon is shaped like a traditional spoon, and fits perfectly in her hands.

Thank you Best Buy!

I've had a pile of old electronics growing in the corner of my office, wondering how to be responsible with them and keep the mess below the wife acceptance factor.  The other day, a 1997-era PC and an old VCR went to the Geek Squad counter at a nearby Best Buy, on their way to a proper electronics recycling center.

For the PC, I had to take the hard drive out, and there's a $10 charge, but you get a $10 Best Buy gift card in exchange.  They'll take a hard drive out for you for a charge if you can't do it yourself.

The VCR they just took.

The gift card is long gone.

Took an old (1997-era) PC and VCR to Best Buy.  Cost me $10 to recycle the PC, but I got a $10 Best Buy card in exchange.  This is awesome of Best Buy--keeping electronics out of landfills.

I played soccer from a young age until college, when I hurt my knee.  I was a goalie, and goalie hands are useful for handling little squirmy worms.  But the footwork comes in just as handy.  I find myself "dribbling" doors when carrying the Precious Little One, and maneuvering the stroller taking her in and out.  Shopping carts are another item where some good footwork can be useful--the more appendages you can use to move a cart around with, the more other appendages you can use to hold a squirmy worm.

If you weren't a soccer player back in the day, you have about nine months to practice…

I'm sitting here, watching Precious Little One paint her high chair tray with Blueberry Delight. Pink yogurt outlines a silly smile, banana is smashed between hee fingers, and Kix are trapped in the wrinkles of her jammies. And the thought that pops into my head is, "someday I'm going to have to talk about the birds and the bees with her."

Time to go outside and play.

Sometimes wifey and precious little one(s) will travel without you. When this involves flying, you don't have to send them to the gate withour you, nor have to wait at baggage claim. Airlines will give you a gate pass if you ask for it, but you have to know what to say. The key word is "assistance". Airlines don't give gate passes so you can see them off, or meet them, but if they need assistance, you're through. The same security rules apply as for normal passengers, so remember your photo ID and wear loafers.

iPods and Zunes have made tapes and CDs obsolete, and made entertaining a baby considerably easier.  You can now queue up many hours of rainfall or soft lullabyes, and when done, the player will turn itself off.

For Christmas, I gave wifey the JBL On Stage Micro Portable Speaker Dock for her iPod, and the Precious Little One falls asleep every night listening to it.  Personally, I'm thrilled with these speakers.  If you have an iPod, this is a universal dock with plastic adapters to accommodate every version of the iPod, and a remote control to control your iPod from across the room.

These speakers also have a line in input, so if you have a Zune or another MP3 player, you can still use these speakers, you just won't get the benefit of the remote control.  You can also use this as an external speaker for your PC with the line in.

For power, you can either plug these speakers in, or use a few AA batteries.  The dock doubles as an iPod charger when plugged in.  There is also a USB input, which allows you to dock and sync your iPod with your computer via the On Stage.

The sound from these speakers is really good considering how small they are.  At normal listening levels, music and lyrics are crisp, with no distortion.  The nursery is about 12'x12', and the On Stage fills the room with music at a very low volume level.  These are no replacement for a full Dolby 5.1 surround system, but they'll be great in a large office or similar sized room.

Included are inserts for every iPod type so they're stable on the dock, plus a carrying case, AC adapter and remote control.

We seem to have regressed.  She was up twice overnight, each time needing a small bottle to calm down.  We then got her up at the normal time.  First nap was normal, but the second nap went a little late.  When bedtime came, she went right to sleep, but only for a few minutes.  She wailed for about half an hour, but after a BPD (big poopie diaper), she went right to sleep.

She almost made it through the night.  Just one wakeup, a tiny bottle at 5am, and she was back to sleep until we work her up around the usual time.  Naps were erratic since she was in the car a lot in the morning, but an afternoon nap, dinner, lots of play, and she went right to sleep shortly after her usual bedtime.  The quietest bedtime we've had in weeks.

She was up once overnight, for a small bottle and then right back to sleep.  We woke her up in the morning, and her nap schedule was a little off since she went to a friend's house to be babysat for the morning.  We woke her up from her usual afternoon nap, and she went to sleep easily after she had her fill of a bottle.  Bedtime is much smoother than last week.

One overnight wakeup, and back to sleep after a small bottle.  Discomfort from constipation woke her up early in the morning, but another small bottle and some rocking and she went back to sleep until we woke her at her normal time.  Normal nap schedule, and she was asleep at a normal bedtime with only one pickup.  Still doing well…

Since she went to bed so late, 5:30 am was the middle of the night for her.  After a few minutes of crying, a small bottle got her right back to sleep.  We woke her up a few hours later, at her usual time, and she kept to a normal eating and napping schedule through the day.  Toward the end of the day, we kept her going until her usual bedtime.  After a small bottle, she was asleep after crying for 15 minutes.  This is showing promise…

Overnight was significantly easier than before we started with the sleep training.  She was up once, drank a little less than usual, and was back to sleep in a couple of minutes.  She woke up bubbly, we woke up more rested, and started the day off with a good breakfast.  After a couple hours of play, it was time for a little milk and an easy glide into a nap.  She popped up a little while later, ready to play.  After lunch, some more play, and another nap.  After the nap, more play, dinner, and more play.  After this play period, we messed up.  It was way before her bedtime, but she was tired, so we put her to bed.  She woke up a couple hours later, after her normal bedtime, and close to ours, thinking she had just taken a great nap.  After more than an hour and a half of screaming, and a small bottle, we picked her up.  Playtime followed until close to midnight.  At the first sign of a yawn and eye rub, we put her back to bed, and she was asleep in less than a minute.  We'll see if we messed up the routine in the next day or so.

Read more about the Ferber Method in Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems.

The first couple nights of the Ferber Method aren't going to be cakewalks.  The previous several nights (before ferberization began) have been really rough, with screaming fits every couple of hours.  Sometimes she was awake, sometimes not.

Overnight, the Precious Little One was up for one feeding, but it took about 90 minutes to get her back to sleep.  All in all, she got about 10 or so hours of sleep, and she woke up in a much better mood.  I, however, was exhausted.

She took her usual couple of naps during the day, and we made sure to wake her up so she didn't sleep too late in the afternoon.  Bedtime tonight was a cinch--after her bottle, she cried for a minute or two, and was out like a light.  If this continues, the Ferber Method will be amazing.

Read more about the Ferber Method in Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems.