Todd’s 11 Rules for Technology in 2011

1. Your email address must have some relationship to your actual name, and the closer to your full name, the better.
2. If you don’t check your email at least once per day, we can’t be friends.
3. You don’t have to have a smart phone, but I can’t relate if you don’t want one.
4. It is time to get rid of Hotmail, AOL, and really any email provider that isn’t Gmail, Yahoo, or your business’s domain.  With email forwarding services, switching is much easier than you probably think.
5. You should have more than one charger for every digital device you own that runs on a rechargeable battery.
6. It is time that you own a portable device with a map function.
7. If you don’t consider yourself tech-savvy, your next computer should be a Mac.
8. You should have a Paypal account by now.
9. At only $5 per month, everyone ought to use Backblaze or a similar online backup service. Sometimes computers die or get stolen, and that’s a real bummer – you know what’s worse?  Having that happen and losing all of your files in the process.
10. The simplicity of services like Google Docs and Dropbox (both free!) mean that you shouldn’t bother emailing yourself files anymore.
11. You have to at least try the Kindle before claiming that you like “real” books too much to get one.

Goodbye, Grandpa Hendricks.

Two weeks ago my Mom’s Dad – Don Hendricks – passed away at the age of 91 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s.

Grandpa Hendricks was simply the kindest person I have ever known.  You can still see it alive and well today just by spending 5 minutes with any of his 3 children, who are now all in the running for kindest person on the planet.

Today I want to share with you 3 memories I have of my time with Grandpa Hendricks.

Memory #1

My brothers and I played tennis from the time we were little all the way through high school, and other than my parents, there wasn’t anyone who came close to attending to more of our matches than Grandpa Hendricks.  Dressed in his trademark khaki pants and golf hat, he watched quietly, and was always quick to congratulate on a match well-played – after a win, or a loss.  It didn’t matter to him, he was just so, so proud of us.  I don’t remember Grandma being at those matches very often, but I’m sure that’s because she was off shopping at Penny’s with Marge, finding something to spend 10 dollars on so that she could get a free mini-radio to give to one of us boys.  I never had the heart to tell Grandma that the items they gave away for “free” were unquestionably worth less than what she had to spend to get them.  Then again, I’m sure she wouldn’t have cared; she was too Dutch to think it was anything other than a great deal.

Memory #2

Grandpa Hendricks loved to play golf, and when I was in middle school, I took up the game for a brief while.  One Saturday morning the summer before my 8th grade year, I went golfing with Grandpa, and one of his friends – I’m guessing it was Arnie, since as far as I know, those two golfed together every day for at least 20 years.

While we’re playing, we get to a short par 3 that was about 160 yards long.  Grandpa and Arnie hit first, and then it’s my turn.  I take out an 8 iron, and hit the ball the right distance, but off to the side, away from the green.  While we were walking towards the pin, Grandpa asked me what club I’d used.  I told him it was an 8 iron – and he couldn’t believe it.  He’d used a 6 or 7, as had Arnie, and Grandpa couldn’t believe I could hit an 8 iron 160 yards.  Regardless of the fact that my shot missed the mark, to me, this was the ultimate accomplishment – in my mind, Grandpa was a golfer on the level of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicholas, and Chi Chi Rodriguez – whose name was on the golf clubs that lived in Grandpa and Grandma’s garage that I’ll always remember using along with Scott to imitate Chi Chi’s famous swash-buckling celebrations.

Memory #3

My final memory of Grandpa for today comes much later – sometime in the last few years, long after Alzheimer’s had taken away nearly all of Grandpa’s memory.  It was a holiday weekend in the summer, and being as such, we were at the Silver Lake cottage, and Joel and Scott and I had anchored the canoe not too far from the beach, and were attempting to hit plastic golf balls into it.  Grandpa and Grandma were out that day, and as he normally was at this stage in his life, Grandpa had been very quiet.  At some point he came over to see what we were doing, and at my Mom’s suggestion, he was given a golf club.  Now, for those of you who play golf, you know that the real golfers hold the club a specific way – not like a baseball bat, with one hand on top of the other, but in a very counter-intuitive way, with some of your fingers interlaced.  And sure enough, despite not knowing what holiday we were celebrating, or probably even the name of the lake he’d spent so many years on, when Grandpa picked up that golf club, his hands immediately went back to the familiar grip on the golf club, and after a couple of picture-perfect practice strokes, he started absolutely peppering balls at the canoe – far more successfully than Joel, Scott, or I.  That’s probably my last truly happy memory of Grandpa – as his Alzheimer’s only worsened from there.

Final Thoughts

As many of you know, I live year-round at the house on Silver Lake that Grandpa built so many years ago, and in closing, I just want it to be known that:

- I still sharpen my pencils with the ridiculously inconvenient pencil sharpener in the back closet;

- I still skip the traditional pizza cutter and use scissors instead

- I still call the yard that abuts the lake the “front” yard, despite it having no road access;

- I still call all of the couches at the cottage “davenports”; and,

- I still plan to play wiffleball every 4th of July, even though there are no more tomato plants to step on while fielding grounders up the 3rd baseline.

I’ll miss you Grandpa – you’re gone, but certainly not forgotten.

Toddbits – September 25, 2010

1.  The 2nd installment of Art Prize is taking place in Grand Rapids right now — which means that you all have the opportunity to see 10 years worth of dryer lint turned into a replica of The Last Supper.  (Thank you, Joel, for the photo)

Go figure: Joel met the artist and says that she’s a bit nutty.

2.  Over the past month, Kate and I have locked down the members of our wedding party – which falls somewhere in between asking someone to marry you and asking someone to go on a date with you.  We posted some pictures to our other website under the “Bridal Party” section.  Be sure to check out the picture of me and Leland.

3.  This morning, I participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, along with Kate, her family, and extended family.  I took first.  Kate took second.  Kate probably would have won had I not pushed her down right before the finish line.

The shirt backs say “For Lor.”

4.  As many of you know, I’m working on Justin Amash’s political campaign (don’t forget to vote on November 2nd!).  While you’ve probably heard about one of Justin’s opponents, PLEASE don’t sleep on Ted Gerrard.

5.  Looking at Ted Gerrard’s website reminds me of (by far) the most entertaining lawyer I’ve ever met.  The illustrious David R. Justian.  True story: after the judge granted summary disposition against his client (and in favor of mine), Justian retired from the practice of law.  This guy was not only hilarious, but also a true renaissance man.  How many people do you know who can provide both legal advice AND subtitles for your YouTube video?

On Wedding Registries

Yesterday Kate and I spent a couple of hours at Target going through our first take at registering for wedding gifts.  With the wedding industry becoming a $40 billion per year juggernaut, there’s some competition for our registry dollars, leading to some very helpful changes (I’m assuming) in wedding registration in recent years.

First, the stores themselves have improved the registering process: you get a little gun and walk shooting items like you’re playing a giant game of laser tag, only you’re the only person with a laser.  Once you select an item, a touch screen pops up where you can edit the quantity (Todd: “How many bath towels do we need?”  Kate: “I don’t know, 6?” Todd: “Kate, you use 6 bath towels in 2 days.”), or delete an item (Kate: “No, Todd, we can’t register for a $60 toilet seat cover.”).  These features were great while we were in the store.  It wasn’t until we got home that we realized the ‘delete’ feature rarely actually worked, and Target has employed a family of monkeys to actually organize the items they sell (for example: our bath towels showed up in the games section, while our hand towels showed up under kitchen).  Thankfully, it’s pretty simple to fix (though rather time-consuming).

Second, the stores now give you gifts, just for showing up.  For example, at Target, if you register for a certain amount of various brands, you get bonus items of that brand for free.  The week after your wedding, everything on your registry is 10% off.

Third, and this one is legitimately genius, the big box stores now provide registry guides and checklists.  These come in handy when trying to answer the questions: “What constitutes the necessary items in a knife set?” or “How many turkey basters should one own?”

Below is a sampling of items we considered yesterday:

1.  The Shake Weight – AKA the most awkward-looking fitness device I’ve ever seen.  I love when infomercial products become so popular that stores start carrying them (see, e.g., the Snuggie, the Sham-Wow, and the Chia Pet).  Although I’m not sure how the business model works there — with informercials, you make a ton of money by charging exorbitant shipping rates.  Obviously, you can’t do that while selling your product at Target.  I guess the exposure alone must be enough.  No, we did not actually register for this.

Now just $19.95 (plus S&H)!

2.  Guess Who? True story: Kate and I nearly broke up over a game of Guess Who?.  For those of you who have played, you know that once you figure out the basic strategy (selecting the most common groups at the beginning, and then narrow it down), Guess Who? is a game of chance.  However, a few years ago I figured out a very clever strategy that has led me to claim myself as the greatest Guess Who? player of all time.  I’m not going to divulge my secrets, but let’s just say that I employed the strategy against Kate, defeated her, and she was furious.  She thinks it is cheating (which it certainly is not), I think it is strategic.  Thankfully, our relationship recovered – but we’ve never played Guess Who? again, so Kate wouldn’t let me register for this either.

3.  Mr. Coffee Optimal Brew Thermal Coffee Maker.  One of the 2 or 3 items (out of 50) that we registered for that I’m legitimately excited about.

4.  Turkey Roaster.  Someone told Kate that it is important to register for everything you will need to cook Thanksgiving dinner.  While this may have been good advice 25 years ago, it is a bit outdated.  First, these items will take up space in what is likely to be a cramped kitchen, wherever we live after we get married.  Second, if, someday, we are cooking Thanksgiving dinner, we can borrow the equipment from our families (who, presumptively, will be coming over for Thanksgiving dinner, unless 28 years of tradition breaks).  Third, and most importantly, it doesn’t fit with my newly created (and still being tweaked) “10 Times in 10 Years” rule: If we are not likely to use the items at least 10 times over the course of the next 10 years (excluding single/limited use items), we are not registering for it.  Seems like a reasonable rule to me.  What do you think?

Toddbits – Strange, But True.

We fly back to the United States tomorrow (are you ready for us?), so this will be my final post from Costa Rica, but don’t worry, the hugely popular Toddbits series will continue from the U.S.  With that said, here are a few things that have been on my mind lately:

1.  I can count the number of times I have shaved in the past 9 weeks on 1 hand.

2.  The  last time I went 24 consecutive hours without seeing Kate was in February, almost 6 months ago.

3.  The last time I went more than 2 (non-sleeping) hours without seeing Kate was at least 62 days ago.

4.  Last summer I watched at least the highlights of more than 100 Detroit Tigers games.  As of today, I have not watched 1 second of their last 53 games.

5.  I’ve had sushi more times with Kate in 2 months in Costa Rica (2) than I did with her in the last 18 months in Grand Rapids (1).

6.  My friend Justin Amash is running for Congress, and the primary election is tomorrow (August 3).  If you are a resident of greater Grand Rapids, PLEASE go out and vote for him tomorrow.  Click here for more information about Justin – but what you really need to know is that Justin is honest, hardworking, and cares more about doing what is right for West Michigan than any person I know.  Since we’ll be traveling tomorrow, I won’t be able to vote – so that means that you, proud followers of ToddAndKate.wordpress.com, are going to have to vote for me.  Please help me out here.  Thanks!

On Things Missed

Our time in Costa Rica is drawing to a close, and I’m starting to look forward to returning to the U.S.

Here are a few thoughts on what I have and haven’t missed about the U.S., and what I will and won’t miss about Costa Rica.

What I’ve missed about the U.S.:

All things food: I miss having a grill and fully functional kitchen, including a toaster.  Everyone here has toaster ovens that only sort of work (which is true about all appliances here).  I’m ready to be done with them.  I miss American grocery stores with their higher standards for what constitutes “fresh” produce, and while I’ve come to appreciate the value of eating seasonally/locally, sometimes I just really want asparagus or avocado, and am willing to live with the fact that it traveled a long way before winding up on my plate.

Functional technology:  2 weeks into our trip the keyboard on my laptop finally broke.  It took another 2 weeks before I was able to get any type of temporary replacement (thanks,Mom!).  I’ve missed the ease of communication in the U.S. that comes from having a cell phone (mostly for sending text messages) and a reliable internet connection.  Oh, and it’s been 2 months since I watched even an inning of a Tigers game.

Friends and Family:  I love Kate.  I love her more today than I did when we got here, and cannot say enough about how much better this experience has been as a result of her being here with me.  With that said, I miss my friends and family.  I don’t like that I have to schedule phone calls with my parents.  I don’t like that I’ve missed a number of weddings, parties, events, get togethers, and celebrations (both big and small).  I’ll be happy to feel connected to more than one person when we get home.

What I have not missed about the U.S.:

Americans:  Frankly, we are a really annoying people when you take a step back.  In large part we are greedy, demanding, needy, and oblivious.  Down here, most of the Americans are people who couldn’t cut it in the U.S., so they came down here to be a gringo.  For a prime example, please see the following Craigslist ad:

El Cap

What I will miss about Costa Rica:

Guanacaste: We’ve spent the majority of our time in the western portion of Costa Rica known as Guanacaste.  It is full of incredibly friendly people, has wonderful beaches, and is sunny 80% of the time.  This is a great part of the world, and I’m already looking forward to coming back some day.

The Kids at Abriendo Mentes:  After 5+ weeks of working with the same group of ~20 kids, I feel a strong connection to both the program and the kids.  I really want to know what happens to these kids in 5 years, 10 years, etc.  I’m excited to hear about how this program changed their lives.  Also, I’m really going to miss the consistency these kids bring to class every day, and the ability to joke (in English) about the kids with Kate, Drew, and Meradith.  I love that every day 2 of the little boys respond to the question “How do you feel today?” by saying “I feel estrong” while flexing their biceps.  It is hard to leave knowing that we’ll likely never hear that response from those kids again.

What I will not miss about Costa Rica:

The fact that nothing works here:  Meradith and Drew have a bumper sticker that says “Costa Rica – We make easy hard.”  Truer words have never been spoken.  The power goes out a lot.  The showers are mostly cold.  No one has a dryer, and the washing machines are sketchy at best.  You have to get by with what you have because no one ever has the tool you really need to do something properly (like make toast).  There are no street signs.  You’re as likely to see a “Burger King – 8 km ahead” sign as you are to see a “Liberia – 8 km ahead” sign.  Nothing happens on time.  Things are often closed for no apparent reason.  If you’re not operating on a very calm and relaxed level, this country can be maddening.

Sweating;  It is ALWAYS hot, and we have lived in a state of perpetual state of perspiration for long enough.

Travelling:  I will not miss living out of a suitcase, constantly being only semi-sure of where we are going, or Costa Rica’s awful, awful roads.

We are 10 days away from coming home, and I can’t really believe it — but thankfully, I feel ready.

On Reading

After updating our reading list, I realized that I have (and have had, for years) an obsession with reading multiple books by the same author.

On this trip I’ve read all 7 of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, 2 John Grisham books (to go along with 2 I read earlier this year), 2 Agatha Christie books (which makes me a grandma, according to Kate), 2 of Tim Horford’s econ books (in addition to one last summer), and Scott Turow’s latest novel (to go along with Presumed Innocent, which I finally read just before we left, and another of his books which I just bought).

Earlier this year I read 2 Nick Hornby books (having read a few others by him in years past), the second of which, Fever Pitch, put me on a soccer kick, leading me to read Brilliant Orange (per Justin’s recommendation) and Soccernomics (which is what led me back to Horford).

Last year I read The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.  In the past it has been Tom Robbins, Malcolm Gladwell, J.R.R. Tolkein, and the Harry Potter series.   Who/what will I read next?  No idea, but it will probably be written by someone with more than one book out there.

Kate and I with my beloved Chronicles of Narnia (which I gave away, sadly)

Toddbits el Tercero

Here are a few things I’ve learned over the past 6 week in Costa Rica:

1.  Liquid Pepto Bismol is nowhere near as disgusting as I remember it being as a child.

2.  So long as you know how to get where you are going, the bus is an awesome way to travel.

3.  If you’re not sure how to get where you’re going, due to its directional singularity (aka your inability to turn around), the bus is far inferior to, and much more stressful than driving.

4.  Earlier this week, after using a dryer for the first time in 6 weeks, I was reminded that the dryer plays an under-appreciated role in clothes-shape management.  Dryers don’t get enough respect.

5.  There is more than one way to fix potholes on a dirt road.  According to Drew, of Abriendo Mentes fame, during Costa Rica’s dry season, the government will occasionally fill potholes with molasses.  It drys hard enough to drive on, and lasts until the next serious rain, more or less, which down here can be a while.  Additionally, they use molasses on the roads to keep the dust in check.  I’m considering starting a road side pancake stand down here.

6.  After living with a cat for nearly 24 hours, I have learned that my life-long hatred for cats is well-founded.  It has actually been worse than I imagined.  All cat people have now gone from minus 1 to minus 2 in my book.

Toddbits Dos

1. As you probably noticed by the title of this blog post, my Spanish is improving.

2. For those of you who have been anxiously waiting, Kate and I have chosen this as our engagement photo:

Engagement photo.

Moms/Dads, feel free to pass that along to the Press.

3. Below, please find the quintessential photo of Kate on a horse.

At least she looks good in her helmet.

4. More than a few things in Costa Rica are not as they are in the United States.  One example: the combination of banking and humor/sarcasm.  In the U.S., there is no combination.  In Costa Rica, you get examples like this message, which was displayed on the screen of the ATM during my transaction at a branch of the national bank of Costa Rica this week:

“You took to (sic) long to retreive your money from the ATM, so the bank will be keeping it.”

5. Another thing that is different down here is water slides.  In the U.S., lawyers have come in and regulated most of the fun/danger out of water slides.  Not so in Costa Rica, where even the water slides at your local hot springs involve speeds in excess of 45 kph (or at least water slides that advertise “this slide is designed to carry passengers at speeds of 45 kph.”)  As you can see in the video, the slides are fun, but during the ride you’re traveling fast enough to feel that flight is a legitimate possibility at any moment, and at the end of the ride, you, your nose, and the water participate in a highly uncomfortable menage a trois.

Toddbits

Some strange, but true, facts about our trip so far:

1. I just received a massage from a blind man at ‘Seeing Hands’ in Granada, Nicaragua while listening to recorder-and-acoustic-guitar versions of “The Rose” by Barbara Streisand and “The Sounds of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel. Frankly, the entire experience was wonderful.

2. Yesterday I went to a bar where the daily beer special was “Pay for 6, get 10.” Additionally, each beer (not considering the special) cost $1.00.

3. This morning I saw a 2 or 3 year old girl, at her mother’s insistence, relieve herself in a street gutter in downtown Grenada.

4. Last Friday I met a 3-year old boy named Estiven. He was delightful but seemingly unable to speak a word of Spanish (or English). On Sunday I saw Estiven again. This time, he was manning the wheel of the family auto while his parents pushed their out-of-gas car up a hill. I had no idea a boy that small could produce a grin that large.