DadTalk

Wedding Anniversary

Today is my 10th wedding anniversary. Here’s what I wrote to my wife:

Where did the last 10 years go?

We sipped wine in Paris.
We traversed Provence.
We hiked in Pacific Palisades.
We worked in Los Angeles and Ontario.
We stayed at a B&B in Santa Barbara.
We bought a house in Upland.
You wrote a book.
I paginated the Los Angeles Times.
We made numerous trips to Connecticut and Chicago.
You became pregnant; I helped (heh-heh).
We drove from San Francisco to Los Angeles for fun.
Seth was born.
I redesigned the Los Angeles Times.
We visited Big Bear.
You taught Seth how to walk.
We celebrated our 40th with tea in Victoria.
We read to Seth.
You reviewed kids books.
Lael was born.
We had fun in Pismo Beach.
You started Cybils.
I quit the Times.
We moved to Chicago.
I tried my hand as a businessman.
You found a great school for Seth.
We found an apartment with an amazing view.
Seth and Lael grew immeasurably under your care.
We moved to Scottsdale.
You found a job you enjoy.
Seth and Lael thrived.
I work from home and spend quality time with the kids.
You make beautiful jewelry.
We’re about to visit LaJolla.

The years have gone by quickly, which attests to a rich marriage. May the next 10 years be as adventure packed and exciting.

Product Review Can Sponges Be Green?

When the publicist contacted me about reviewing environmentally-friendly Scotch-Brite sponges, I almost laughed. But since I happen to already use that brand, I figured why not?

Besides, when I was a boy, my dad WORKED for 3M, the makers of Scotch-Brite. Dad would often bring home cool electronic toys before they were cool. I was like 7 at the time.

Healing After a Burn

Part I

During the drive home from the Burn Center at Maricopa Medical Center, Seth is awake and talkative despite the morphine floating around his system.

Considering it is hours past bed time, I marvel that my boy is still awake. Anne greets us as I carry Seth, who is now wearing green hospital pajamas, into the house.

After hugs, Seth and I prowl for food. After all, this adventure started after my boy spilled scalding soup on his chest, arm, fingers and lap. The only food we had while at the hospital were some graham crackers and potato chips.

As Seth eats, my wife and I discuss next day plans, which include Seth’s expected school musical solo. Seth indicates a desire to perform.

The Danger of Hot Soup

As the aroma of soup wafts up from the kitchen, I walk down the stairs for dinner. Lael, sick with a come-and-go fever, sleeps upstairs.

Earlier, I had taken the covers off the living room couch because our daughter had peed in her sleep. I put a white sheet on the couch to protect the now bare mattress.

Anne is talking to me as she ladles out soup for our dinners. Seth is already at the table with his food.

Suddenly, there is a blood-curdling scream. The type of scream that says your son is facing mortal harm.

Knowing exactly what happened, I rush into the dining room and quickly take in the situation. Seth, screaming, soup bowl on the floor, clutches the library book that probably knocked the bowl onto his chest and into his lap.

I immediately strip off Seth’s jersey and shorts. Ironically, the red, white and black top represents the only nylon clothing – a gift – that my son owns. Nylon passes the hot food straight to his skin.

I carefully pick Seth up and put him on the white sheet on the couch while my wife brings over ice packs. Seth’s chest, right arm, underarm, fingers, stomach and pelvis are all boiled red. I note that burns streak around toward his back.

Credit Card Firms May Punish Those Who Pay Bills on Time

For decades I’ve played a cat-and-mouse game with the credit card companies. It’s not what you think.

You see, I’ve been paying the full balance each month shortly after graduating college in 1986, because I detest paying interest. Profit-hungry banks don’t like those of us who pay off our debts while taking advantage of all their “great” deals because we:

• Avoid annual fees;
• Favor cards with the best rewards; and we
• Prefer gold cards for free insurance and other benefits.

So the banks continuously are looking for ways to trip up us “zero” balance folks. When I lived in Chicago, my bill would arrive only days before it was due. This problem was created because my bank shortened the number of days I had to respond, and because Chicago has the worst mail system in the nation, according The Consumerist.

Food Safety Let the Eater Beware

Did you know that one big food maker wants you to stop using the microwave for frozen meals and instead use a conventional oven? Why, you ask? Because some big food makers are now relying on customers to make prepared food safe now that they cannot, reports The New York Times.

The concern isn’t about raw meat. Instead, the big food makers can’t guarantee vegetables and seasonings aren’t contaminated with salmonella, E. coli and other pathogens.

Consider ConAgra’s problems with “frozen pot pies that sickened an estimated 15,000 people with salmonella in 2007:”

Happy Mother’s Day!

Our celebration will be somewhat subdued this year. My wife’s schedule makes it hard to make breakfast in bed – she gets up around noon. Or 1 p.m. Or 10 a.m. We never really know on the weekends. And of course our finances are tight this year.

Making the day kind of weird, two of Lael’s playmates inexplicably scheduled a birthday party for the afternoon. I had planned to skip it, but Anne told the parents we’d be there. (I suspect my wife wasn’t aware it was on Mother’s Day.)

In the evening, I’m taking the whole family, including my mom, out for dinner. Besides flowers, the only other present this year are movie tickets.

Hope you all have a wonderful Mothers Day!

Want to Learn More About Twitter?

If you don’t, I understand. I mean, enough is enough already. On the other hand, Twitter is getting hard to run away from. If you want to learn more, go to my other site for an article on how to make the most of Twitter.

Can Kindle Save Newspapers?

This was written for my new website at WriteThru.

While the easy-to-read flat screens now being sold by Amazon are definitely a step in the right direction, technology can only save an industry if the revenue model makes sense.

Consider these drawbacks:

1. Consumers either have to pony up $489 to buy one of the devices OR sign up for a lengthy subscription to get a discounted device, reports the Los Angeles Times.
2. Amazon wants 70 percent of the subscription revenue from newspaper sales, reports Endgadget. Worse: Amazon also gets permission to republish content on other devices, such as the iphone.
3. If consumers must buy multiple subscriptions – ranging from $5.99 to $13.99 a month – to get news from EACH source, which content companies will be left out in the cold? Perhaps local news providers?
4. Do the math: News producers will get only $1.7 to $4.197 a month if they’re getting only 30 percent of the revenue.

What Was I Thinking?

Because I’ve just launched WriteThru.com, which offers free webinars to media professionals seeking to enhance their technology skills, I’m going to cross-post my “explainer” here on DadTalk. Please feel free to spread the word about WriteThru … I can use the help!

I LEFT THE LOS ANGELES TIMES knowing an economic storm was coming, but I had no idea just how hard the media world would be hit. I figured there would be layoffs at newspapers beyond those of the late 1980s and early 1990s, but then mistakenly hoped that the market would stabilize.

Today, I find it heartbreaking to see so many hard-working colleagues and friends suddenly wondering how to pick up the pieces of their damaged careers. PaperCuts counts nearly 16,000 newspaper jobs lost in the United States in 2008 alone and nearly 9,000 more so far this year. And by all accounts, TV, radio and magazine employees all have been equally pummeled.

But I do not believe that professional journalism will die. Hints of what might emerge are seeping through. Think ProPublica. Think VoiceofSanDiego. Consider the possibilities of electronic ink/paper. I don’t know exactly what form this golden era of journalism will materialize, but I do know that many of the journalists who are losing their jobs today will help launch this renaissance.