Links

Kidshealth.org We all want to see how our child stacks up to what is 'normal'. KidsHealth presents clear and easily understood articles on children and child development.

AmericasLibrary.gov Learn while you surf at America's Library online. Offered by the Library of Congress, read profiles of famous Americans, explore our 50 states, and join in some of the many projects going on across the nation.

Rumpus.com Take your kids to Rumpus and hold on! From the moment you arrive, Rumpus is in-your-face with lots of motion and bright colors. Games, cartoons and other fun activities will attack your eyes at this feast of color and light. 

Party 2

Trevor went to his friend Emily's birthday party this weekend at Chuckie Cheese. Lots of fun and lots of kids. Some of the other parents said that it wasn't that crowded, but I would hate to see it full!

Party!

As per his persona, the moment music comes on, Trevor breaks into dance. At Emily's birthday party this weekend, Trevor makes no exceptions.

Hah, we took this picture of Trevor dancing this weekend, and realized as we were putting it up, that it looks like he is licking the chair. Ewwwww!  

Fellowship

Only a few weeks left until the release of the movie version of this classic fantasy tale,Fellowship of the Ring. This book, The Two Towers and The Return of the King make up the three parts to Tolkien's infamous Lord of the Rings series. This first installment brings us on the harrowing journey of Frodo Baggins as he tries to combat the Lord of Darkness, Sauron. With him on his travels are Aragorn the Ranger, Gimli the Dwarf, Boromir a human, Gandalf the Wizard, Sam his best friend and a host of other fascinating characters. 

Shutter Bug

Trevor has been asking for the last few days to take pictures by himself with the digital camera. After some guidance, this is one of the first ones he took. You can see the hesitation in my face as I leaned back, leaving Trevor in full control of my digital camera. hah. He did a pretty good job! This is a shot of Tara from last weekend when we were playing Star Wars Trivial Pursuit with Clay. Tara seemed to be cursed with the ability to answer every one of other people's questions correctly and get almost all of her's wrong! If you ever play Star Wars Trivial Pursuit and you get a questions that you do not know the answer to, always pick "Grand Mof Tarkin". That seems to be the staple answer. 

Shop for Putty

So, we have spent the last few days showing everyone we know the Thinking Putty we recently purchased from Crazy Aaron. We are going to purchase a few more tins and some of you have also expressed interest in getting some for yourselves or as gifts for friends and family for the holiday season. If you want to get some of Aaron's Thinking Putty go to PuttyWorld. There are a ton of colors to select from and they also will gift wrap them for you. Make sure when you are checking out, to use the coupon code "liloia" to get a 10% discount on your order. 

Staying Alive: A Beginner's Guide to Multiplayer Diablo II

Multiplayer online gaming is a runaway success, but player killers and hackers lurk at every turn! How do you protect yourself from these malicious gamers? Here are some simple rules to surving Battle.net that could save your life (or your character's life at least!).

1. Never type in your password after the B.net login screen. There is no reason you should ever need your password after logging in. There are numerous ways that unscrupulous players get you to send your password to them. Recently, players have registered account names like ladder-status and rankings. If you type /w rankings then your account name and password (as they have instructed you to do) you have just handed them access to your account and all your characters!

2. CTRL + F4 will kick you out of the game! Mischeivious players will tell you to press CTRL + F4 just to get you out of a game. But sometimes the reason is even more sinister. A hacker will tell you that dropping a rare item and pressing CTRL + F4 will create a duplicate of the item. Instead, it leaves you at your desktop wondering what happened while the theif makes away with your item.

3. Join parties with care. Remember that everyone in your party can see where you are playing. Often when you join public games, several players immediately invite you into their party. I recommend staying neutral until you learn more about the people you are playing with. Imagine yourself in the middle of the Far Oasis. Suddenly someone leaves your party, goes hostile, finds you quickly and kills you. You are now poorer but wiser. If you are going to play solo in a public game, don't align with anyone or tell anyone where you are. If they can't find you, they can't kill you.

4. Beware of so-called "free" duels. Free duels are where one player challenges another to a duel and the challenger swears up and down that they will return any gold that drops if you lose. You duel, you lose, he picks up the gold and leaves. Again you are wiser, but poorer. Don't duel unless you are prepared to lose money, not to mention your life.

5. Full games = Experience The more crowded the game, the more experience you gain. Blizzard has designed Diablo II so that the game adjusts to more players, making the monsters harder and the rewards greater. If you're looking to level up quickly, find a game with 7 other players.

6. ALT + TAB will close your game window. ALT is a handy tool that displays the items that are laying on the ground. It's a good way to make sure you haven't left any good items behing. TAB will bring up the automap, allowing you to backtrack through an area easily or find new, enexplored areas. However, ALT + TAB will close your game window! The game will still be running (and monsters may be killing you), but you'll be back at your desktop. Watch out for this mistake, it has cost many a warrior their life.

7. Don't hack your favorite character. If you want to hack a character up to God levels, be my guest. But keep this in mind: If you tamper with the character and item files enough, the game may eventually decide not to recognize any of it. This leaves you with a level 1 character and an empty inventory. Don't lose everything to greed.

8. Two heads are better than one. If you want to create a high level character very quickly, gather a few friends, set up a Battle.net account and give everyone access. Whenever anyone has time, they play the joint character. This is a great way to gain experience very quickly. However, do work out your group strategy assigning skill points. If you're making a cold sorceress, everyone needs to know in advance so no one wastes points in lightning spells.

9. Get to know the game. The more you know, the better player you will be. It's harder to trick someone who has done some reading about the game, so use the resources available to you. There are fantastic tips and tricks at http://www.diabloii.net. Read up on character strategy and known cheats and bugs. A well-prepared warrior is a successful warrior! 

Putty, Putty Everywhere

So last night we recieved our delivery of Thinking Putty from Putty World. Tara ordered two containers; Electric Green and Lilac. There are a ton of other colors and they will even do custom colors, tins and labels if you wanted to give putty away as a gift to employees, family, as gifts. Tara mentioned this the other day, but if you order any putty from Putty World and use the code LILOIA you can get 10% off your order. Okay, this is bad. I am at work and I brought the putty with me. It is sitting in the tin to the left of my desk and I can't help picking it up every few minutes. I wonder how much work I will get done today. Huh, well considering my post from yesterday, I guess it really doesn't matter.

Dotcom Deja Vu

So, I have now resigned myself to the fact that I will take a vacation day on November 12th, every year from now on. Last November 12th, I was let go from the company I was with (as was everyone else) due to lack of funding. Well guess what? It happened again. That's right. Not only am I one of the lucky souls to have experienced this occurance twice in one year, but it happened on the same day! So yesterday, my company told a large percentage of our staff the bad news. I have to say, considering that I am now out of a job (as of 12/1) I took it pretty well and not too worried yet. I am starting to look for the next step today. Hopefully I can find something pretty quickly, but considering the way the market has been, that may be tough. So, wish me luck and if you know anyone who is hiring, drop me a line. dave@liloia.com 

Special Annoucement

The great folks at Crazy Aaron's Puttyworld - the makers of Thinking Putty - are offering a 10% discount to Liloia.com readers. That means you! [see below for a recent review of Puttyworld] When you place an order at Crazy Aaron's Puttyworld, just enter the coupon code LILOIA and 10% will automatically be deducted from your total. In addition, the shipping charges are extremely reasonable at Puttyworld - there is no handling fee, you only pay the actual shipping charges. The holidays are fast approaching and there are probably some people on your gift list that are hard to buy for. Maybe you have an office gift exchange and you have to get something unique for under $10.00. Thinking Putty is a great solution - I've ordered a couple of tins already! 

Tricycles?

US Navy personnel race tricycles aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier. At first you think, "This is cute and fun. Here are our armed forces taking a well-deserved rest and having some picnic fun." Then you think, "Why were there tricycles on an aircraft carrier? And more than one at that?" 

Boo

Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen? Especially if you've seen Monsters, Inc. This is little Boo from the movie with her monster disguise on. I've added it to Trevor's Christmas list, but I'm not sure who wants it more, him or me.

Pretty Putty

Elizabeth at Puttyworld.com brought her site to my attention (something you should do too if you'd like your site posted here) and she's right - this is just up our alley here at Liloia.com. It's putty, and it's silly, but it IS NOT Silly Putty. It's Thinking Putty and it's different than any other gooey mass you've had your hands on today! For starters, it comes in more colors than the fleshy pink of that OTHER putty product and you get more than just a tablespoon of it in each package. Go to Puttyworld.com and take a look at the niftylicious things you can do with Thinking Putty. There's sculpting, ceiling hanging, popping, and hurtling it at video cameras at high speeds. Huh? Anyway, we tend to play with goop and putty a lot in my office, so I may pick up some Thinking Putty for the Webmonkeys at work. The hardest part will be deciding which of the incredible colors to choose. So far, I'm partial to the Electric colors. I'll let you know the scoop on this goop once I get my hands on some.

God announces to World, "I Screwed Up"

In an historic press release announced today, God admitted that a foul-up in Heaven's Department of Random Numbers caused the same digits to be used in Colombia for winning lottery numbers and the license plates of cars with bombs in them. The Highest of the High, Creator of All Things explained, "Turns out, we've been using the same purchase orders for car-bombing license plates and lottery numbers. We're in the middle of a huge SAP implementation and we're still working out the bugs." When asked to comment on the recent claims that you can see Satan in the smoke from the WTC, His Supreme Mightiness, Ruler of the Universe said, "That's what you get when you outsource the graphic design department. Some clown thought it would be funny. I think it looks more like Felix the Cat anyway." 

Band of Brothers

I've never been a fan of old WWII movies. They I usually pass them by on quiet Sunday afternoons. But this fall, I was roped into watching the HBO mini-series, Band of Brothers by Dave, who had offered to tape them for a friend at work. At first I didn't watch; I read books while it was on. Until one day, I found myself looking more at the television than at the book. I was hooked. The show is realistic, suspenseful and complex. It's based on the real experiences of the 101st Airborne Division. This really is an ensemble cast, where it's not unusual for a character you've come to know and like to be killed or otherwise removed from the front line. It happens in war, though not nearly as often in movies about war. This 10-part miniseries is based on Stephen E. Ambrose's bestseller, Band of Brothers and retells the wartime exploits of Easy Company. Each episode begins with an interview of the men who actually experienced the events that unfold. I highly reccomend watching Band of Brothers... but you don't have to take my word for it (apologies to LeVar Burton): USA Today - Best portrayal of worst of war NY Post - 'BAND'S' QUIET VICTORY CNN - Enlist TV for 'Band of Brothers' Time Magazine is also offering a special Band of Brothers history lesson. They present readers with interviews of the real men on which this series was based, historical facts and timelines, a photo gallery and free material for teachers who are teaching a lesson on WWII. 

Civ III

I had a much better experience with Civilization III last night than the past two times I've played. You'll recall that I'm a new player, so I'm trying to learn this complex game by a combination of frantic manual reading and muddling through game play. Some advice for the novice Civ-player: start with actual game play on the easiest settings, NOT the tutorial. It was a much more rewarding experience to get through an hour of the game without three other cultures ganging up to annihilate me. I tried Chieftan-level on a large, continental map with two other cultures. A really easy scenario, but that was the point. I finally managed to get the hang of creating new cities - the issue before was that it wasn't entirely clear that I should build several cities. I thought I was just supposed to wait for Rome to expand! I'm still not entirely clear about how to use luxuries that you find on the map. Do you have to build a colony to use it or just a road to it? I did manage to quell a few uprisings in my cities by giving them access to ivory and garrisoning a warrior there. This is a great game, like a detailed and expanded version of Age of Empires. I think Cossacks tried to do the same thing, but ended up being plodding and neverending instead of complex and challenging. Give Civ III a try if you haven't already.

Amazing?

Amazing photograph, right? Tragic, right? Not quite. You see, according to the Urban Legends and Hoaxes topic at About.com, this photo has several flaws that indicate that it is a hoax.

• This is supposedly the WTC North Tower Observation Deck; however, there was no observation deck on the North Tower of the WTC.
• The fast-moving aircraft is not blurry in the photo.
• The temperature was between 65 and 70 degrees that morning. Yet this man is dressed for winter.

But what seems like a hoax at first, may actually be the first documented case of a time traveler who stops at different points in time to witness tragic historical events. Much like the made-for-tv movie, Time Shifters. Apparently, this man has been present at other tragedies thoughout history.

Games

What could possibly be more fun that building a world of your own and controlling every aspect of it? Many games in the past decade have taken up that theme—SimCity, The Sims, Age of Empires, Black & White—to name a few. The latest (and supposedly greatest) of this genre is Sid Meier's Civilization III. I have heard legends that told of college students who failed out of school due to the addictive properties of earlier versions of this game. I think some of the allure of gameplay comes from already having experience with this series. As a completely new Civ player, this game takes some getting used to. First impressions after playing twice: -There's a whole lot that I don't know how to do. -It's disorienting to jump from person to person during each turn. -The tutorial doesn't seem like the easiest setting - the other civilizations keep ganging up on me. -This game is very complex. -I'm not addicted yet, but it's likely I will be. 

Links

Shirky.com Clay Shirky was a columnist for Business2.0 magazine in what seems like a lifetime ago. I looked forward to reading his common-sense outlook on Internet trends. His collected works (many, but not all) are available on his personal site.

Wilton.com I love cooking — and baking is even more fun. You too, can make Martha Stewart-esque confections with a little practice. Just head to Wilton.com for some free examples of basic cake decorating techniques.

StampsOnline If you are the kind of person who has address labels that coordinate with the season, then Stampsonline is the place for you. Here, the USPS presents stamps and mail accessories for every occasion. You can choose from Thanksgiving stamps, Christmas stamps and more to match the time of year!

Grandma Kate

Last weekend, I was home visiting my family and happened to take this picture of my Grandma Kate. Last night I learned that she had fallen and broken her hip and is now in the hospital. My thoughts are with her and my grandfather this week.

Monsters Inc.

Monsters, Inc. combines the good hearted fun of Toy Story with a darker, more complex theme of monsters that scare children for a living. The film gives us a glimpse into a world where collecting screams is a factory job. Whether or not this will be too scary for a child depends on your toddler. Trevor didn't seem scared at all, but two separate families behind us left before the halfway mark. There are a lot of stories going on in Monsters, Inc. — a contest for the record-holding scream collector, underhanded industrial secrets, a power crisis and a relationship in turmoil. There's even an underlying theme of the moral ramifications of exploiting another society for your gain — pretty heavy stuff for an animated flick! Fantasy fans will love the wonderful door scene that does a great treatment of interdimensional travel. Monsters, Inc. offers enough slapstick to keep a three-year-old entertained, great animation in general, and plenty of amusement for the adults. And yes, I'll admit, the ending did put a tear in my eye. The film stars Billy Crystal as Mike Wazowski, John Goodman as Sulley, and Steve Buscemi as Randall Boggs. Behind your closet door, there's more than meets the eye!

Romanian Paper - Part 2

[part 2] I watched the live broadcast and the rerun of its rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who fought with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that would have killed other hundreds of thousands of people. How on earth were they able to bow before a fellow human? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit which nothing can buy. What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their galloping history? Their economic power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases which risk of sounding like commonplaces. I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion. Only freedom can work such miracles! --Mr. Cornel Nistorescu

Pumpkin Cutting

This years pumpkin cutting was pretty cool. This is a shot of about half of the pumpkins that were carved. When all of the pumpkins are on the front steps, it is an impressive sight.

Pumpkins

This year we attended the annual pumpkin cutting party at my uncle Bob's house. This event has become almost religous for us, everyone from all over comes home just for this day. This is my pumpkin.
This is Tara's. She clearly wins. 

Trick or Treat 1

The week before Halloween, Tara's office had trick or treating for the kids in her office. This is Trevor with our friend Karen. Karen is dressed as a dinosaur. 

Romanian Paper - Part 1

This is the first part of an editorial posted in a Romanian newspaper: Why are Americans so united? They don't resemble one another even if you paint them! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations. Some of them are nearly extinct, others are incompatible with one another, and in matters of religious beliefs, not even God can count how many they are. Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed on the streets nearby to gape about. The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand. After the first moments of panic, they raised the flag on the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colours of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a minister or the president was passing. On every occasion they started singing their traditional song: "God Bless America!". Silent as a rock, I watched the charity concert broadcast on Saturday once, twice, three times, on different tv channels. There were Clint Eastwood, Willie Nelson, Robert de Niro, Julia Roberts, Cassius Clay, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Silvester Stalone, James Wood, and many others whom no film or producers could ever bring together. The American's solidarity spirit turned them into a choir. Actually, choir is not the word. What you could hear was the heavy artillery of the American soul. What neither George W. Bush, nor Bill Clinton, nor Colin Powell could say without facing the risk of stumbling over words and sounds, was being heard in a great and unmistakable way in this charity concert. I don't know how it happened that all this obsessive singing of America didn't sound croaky, nationalist, or ostentatious! It made you green with envy because you weren't able to sing for your country without running the risk of being considered chauvinist, ridiculous, or suspected of who-knows-what mean interests. [more to come]