Musings of a Texas Gal in NYC – Planes, Trains, and Subways
Jul 29 2007

I’m going to begin my musings with describing my travel to/from/within NY.  I flew Delta Connection (run by Shuttle America) direct from Austin to JFK.  I was in the very last row on a seat that didn’t recline.  Whenever the pilot or flight attendant said something over the loudspeaker all of us in the back row jumped with surprise and covered our ears because it was so loud.  The plane seemed new and the first one that I can recall flying on with two seats on either side of the aisle….Embraer 170.  One of the flight attendants looked like he really would rather be somewhere else.

There was a baby on board who was very unhappy and it seemed like no matter what the parents did, the baby was determined to be unhappy.  I helped them out by giving them something I had in my purse, but I’m not even sure they knew it came from me because I asked the people in the row in front of me to pass it up…it seemed to calm him down a bit.  It gave me an idea for a future Baby Tip by Babble Soft that I’ll post about soon.

The thing I found most unusual was that for a 4 hour flight over lunch time they had no meal service.  They had a few snacks but by the end of the flight they had run out of the Sun Chips and they had run out of Ginger ale!  I don’t drink ginger ale but some of the women sitting across the aisle from us did.

So once at JFK, I was of course starving.  Seeing only a Burger King with a huge line and a non-descript Pizza place, I decided to wait until I got to my cousin’s place.  I made my way to the Air Train and was helped by a nice MTA employee named Mohammed.  He helped me buy my $5 Air Train ticket and when I told him I would be here for about a week, he advised me to by the unlimited week long $24 Metrocard.  On Wednesday after the conference was over, I realized I probably only needed a $14 card.  I think he assumed I was a tourist and was going to use the subway a lot, but I only used it to/from the airport and the conference.  Anyway, his intentions were good and he was extremely helpful.

From the Air Train I took the A train towards Brooklyn. An Asian woman let me look at her map and once I got out at the appropriate stop an African American woman could tell I looked clueless asked me if I needed help and pointed me to the right exit. [I mention the races of the people who helped me primarily because I was attending a Multi Cultural Women’s conference, and I will elaborate more on the race topic in future posts.]

Contrary to what people usually say about New Yorkers being cold/rude, I experienced the opposite.  Stereotypes are quick to surface and not so easy to change.  I always find it funny when people ask me if I have a cowboy hat or cowboy boots and if I know JR just because I live in Texas.  For the record, I do not currently own a cowboy hat or cowboy boots and I don’t know JR.

The subway is so convenient and full of life.  It’s a sea of humanity all crowded into a bunch of little tubes.  I am always amazed at how many different kinds of people are on the subway. 

I’m typing this post on my return trip on the same type of aircraft.  Our flight was supposed to depart at 5:25 pm but we did not actually take off until 9:30 pm.  We sat on the tarmac waiting to get into the line to get on the runway for over 3 ½ hours.   They told us that one runway was closed down but they didn’t say why.  They allowed us to turn our phones on and when I called my husband he said all they said was there were delays due to weather and I can assure you there was no inclement weather….a few clouds in the sky but that’s it.  Personally, I think there was some security issue going on because later the attendant said the reason was that for planes flying SW they have to fly over Robinsville 6 and that was shut down and that it would be up in 30 minutes.  Huh??!??  I was scratching my head over that one.  [Found out later from a friend who works at NASA and another friend who flies planes that Robinsville 6 does exist so it wasn’t a conspiracy after all!]  So 15 minutes later we were taking off.  The flight attendant is funny and cheesy at the same time.  If he was trying to distract us from thoughts of imminent doom, he did a good job.

Since they were showing off their signature drinks, I decided to try their $5 Passion Fruit Mojito with a splash of OJ while waiting.  Many others on the flight also enjoyed a drink.  My guess is that they made more money on drinks on this trip than normal.  So far I’ve had some non-descript Biscoff biscuits and a bag of Sun Chips for snacks.  Thank goodness I had that horrible $11 tuna salad sandwich with soggy fries in the airport before I got on the plane. 🙄  

Now it’s almost 11 pm NY time so I think I’ll attempt to read a book and lull myself to sleep.  Oops just hit a patch of turbulence they said would last 20 or so minutes so no book for me.  I miss my family.

Update: I arrived in Austin around midnight that night and realized the next day that I left the book I mentioned above in the seatback in front of me.  I have called lost and found twice and left two messages but still have not heard back.

Musings of a Texas Gal in NYC
Jul 26 2007

I figured if Fred Wilson can blog about his musings on being a VC in New York, I can blog about my musings on being an Austin, Texas based entrepreneur visiting New York. I’m still here and will blog more about my trip when I return next week, but I have to say it’s been fantastic!

I made tons of great connections at the Working Mother Multi-Cultural Women Conference I attended and I believe many of them will prove mutually rewarding.

I have also been able to help my cousin with her new, very cute baby by taking ‘big brother’ to the park, distracting him from time to time, feeding him dinner sometimes, doing a few dishes, and holding the baby sometimes so she could rest.  It is great hanging out with her and my aunt.  We have also been catching up on all the family news and drinking a lot of red wine.  My aunt is a brave woman because she watched all four of us kids for several summers when we were growing up.

I know those first weeks that a baby is home can feel isolating and I remember it was always nice to have someone I felt comfortable with around to talk to. Hopefully my cousin feels the same and I was sufficiently helpful.  Since my aunt is here also it’s been easier to help out plus she’s a great cook. 🙂

All in all a good trip! More details to follow…

Aruni

Darth Vader – Why is he so cool to kids?
Jul 26 2007

I remember when I first saw Star Wars as a kid and as I recall Darth Vader was a bad guy so I’m always wondering why kids (including our son) wants to have Darth Vader stuff.  Maybe it’s because the “new” Star Wars series shows Darth Vader as Anakin…making him more human?  To date we have not gotten our soon to be 5 year old son any Darth Vader stuff.  Actually, I don’t think we’ve even gotten him any Star Wars stuff.  He has asked for a light saber and if he didn’t have a 2 year old sister that he might ‘accidentally’ hit with it, we might have given into his pleas for one.

A few months ago I came home after getting a pedicure and for the first time in my life I decided to have them draw something on my big toe: a little white flower.  My son looked at it and said “Mom, can I get my toes done too?”  I said “Well, usually girls get their toes done but if you want to, you certainly can some day.”  He then said “Cool, I want to get Darth Vader on mine!”  I started laughing and of course he started laughing with me.

What I find curious though is that for all other movies/superhero stuff he wants the good guy (e.g., Spiderman, Batman – he dressed as Batman for Halloween last year, Power Rangers, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime etc.).  How he even knows about the Transformers is beyond me since we definitely haven’t and won’t take him to see the movie.  He has probably seen the previews on TV or most likely my husband has shown him the preview on the Apple Movie Trailer site.

Via Engadget:

Darth Vader children’s laptop for your little Sith Lord

Yesterday, July 18, 2007, 7:39:00 PM | Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Laptops

If you’re like us, you want to encourage your children to harness the power of the Dark side and use The Force for their twisted, megalomaniacal schemes, but you also want them to learn something while doing it. Luckily Oregon Scientific understands your plight, and has delivered the Darth Vader laptop to help. Of course, calling it a laptop is a little misleading — it’s more like a Speak & Spell with a glowing lightsaber stylus and accompanying sound effects, but with 50 games for training “reflexes, typing and rhythm,” at least it will keep Palpatine Jr. out of your hair.

What about Murphy’s Law?
Jul 24 2007

Speaking of software testing (via Boing Boing)

Named laws of technology

Posted: 18 Jul 2007 01:37 PM CDT

Cory Doctorow:
The always-great tech-blog Global Nerdy has a great roundup of “named laws” of technology — laws like “Linus’s Law” (“with enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow”), “Occam’s Law” (the simplest explanation is most likely to be true), named for some thinker or technologist, useful in any geek’s daily round. Link

How to Swaddle a Baby: Baby Tip by Babble Soft
Jul 23 2007

Learning how to properly swaddle a baby can make life much easier in those first several weeks after your baby is born.  When we were in the hospital, the nurses could practically swaddle a baby in their sleep.  If the baby wasn’t hungry they would almost instantly calm down after they were swaddled.  It took us a few weeks to master the technique because our kids always seemed to wriggle out of their swaddles but after a while we were pros.  You’d think we would remember the fine art of swaddling after having our first but with 2 1/2 years between them we had to re-learn the technique.  After a few months, they would break loose because they did not want to be swaddled anymore.  Parents.com has some nice illustrations on how to swaddle your baby using The Quick Wrap or The Burrito Roll style.  If you are looking for some great blankets to swaddle your baby in, check out Mr. Bobbles’ Blankets!  From now until the end of July you will get a coupon code for 10% off of purchases at Mr Bobbles’ Blankets with any purchase of a Baby Manager subscription!

Our daughter with a professional nurse swaddle a day or so after she was born:

 Our daughter in her co-sleeper at home with a not-so-professional swaddle.�
We called her the one armed sleeping bandit. 🙂
 

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Note to new readers: these tips are based on our experiences, as well as those of our friends and readers.  Please always consult with your doctor before implementing any tip that might impact the health of your baby.  If you have a tip you’d like to submit please send an email to babblesoft blogger for possible inclusion.  Please check the ‘baby tips’ category to make sure your tip (in some form or fashion) hasn’t already been posted.  If it has been, feel free to comment on that post and support the tip.  We also welcome respectful challenges to the tips because as is noted in our inaugural baby tip ‘everything is relative!’  We will, of course, give anyone who submits a tip we publish credit and a link back to their site!

Working Mother Conference in NYC
Jul 21 2007

I’m going on a trip ‘on my favorite rocket ship!’  Well not really a rocket ship but on my not-so-favorite cramped plane.  I am attending the Working Mother Magazine Conference on Multicultural Companies in NYC next week.  I was planning to go anyway to help my cousin with her new baby and wasn’t sure I would even get into the conference but after I booked the tickets, they emailed me to let me know I could attend on a scholarship basis.  Yay! 😀

I’m looking forward to meeting some amazing women at the conference but most of all I’m looking forward to meeting my new little nephew! 🙂

With all the recent press about flying with kids, I’m kind of glad my kids are staying behind with their Dad!

So, as you may have guessed, posting will be light next week unless I have a brainstorm of ideas that I can write about and schedule for future posting.

Aruni

Software Testing – DOH!!
Jul 19 2007

Is there anyone out there who really loves testing software applications before commercial release?  I guess there must be because people make a living at it.  I have worked with QA testers in the past but I never got the impression that they woke up excited every day about discovering all the things that weren’t working properly in an application.   I guess I haven’t been hanging around the right bunch of people.

Personally, although I’m fairly good at catching things, testing & reviewing software is low on the list of things I get excited about.  Plus I have this compelling need to ‘leave no stone unturned,’ which means it takes me longer to test and longer to document bugs, findings, etc.  And I’m not a very technical documenter (e.g., that thingamabob didn’t work when I pressed this thingamajig – yes I’m exaggerating a bit) which I’m sure drives the developers crazy! 

My ability to test (or shall I say audit since I was an accountant in my prior life) software is a blessing and a curse because invariably I find something not quite right and my shoulder and arm starts to hurt from all the typing, cutting and pasting, and moving my hand back and forth between keypad and mouse.  Sigh.  Thank goodness for Bugzilla.  Oh yeah I almost forgot, the blessing part is that I usually find the unusual/hard-to-find bugs which is important to me because I want our customer’s experience with our applications to be the best it can be.  Plus I don’t want people posting all over the Internet about how our app doesn’t work properly!  So Microsoft and HP can you please get the Vista-HP Printer/Scanner driver issue figured out for InkJets…not just for LaserJets!!

So given my venting/hair pulling frustration about testing you might wonder why I’m heading up a software company!?!  Because I find it deeply rewarding to conceive of technology applications that can help make the lives of new parents a little easier.   Also, it’s a wonderful feeling when nothing crashes or blows up and you know the fixes can be handled fairly quickly.  Thanks Cressanda!  Everyone knows that software is never completely done (e.g., Microsoft’s Vista).  However, I can say with a fair amount of confidence that our new application will have fewer bugs than Vista!  Finally, I am relying on the Law of Attraction and sending out the attraction vibes for one of those elusive folks who truly love software testing to find us at the exact right time we can afford to hire them.  🙂

The good news behind all my Testing woes is that it means we are going to release a new application next month!  I’ve been testing for the last few days and we have a few more weeks of testing and fixing before it’s available.   Anyone who purchases a subscription now will get access to this new feature for FREE for the remainder of their subscription period.  Here’s a hint:  “Baby, Say Cheese” 😀

Aruni

Blog Transition Issues and Pictures
Jul 17 2007

The move to our self hosted WordPress blog this weekend went reasonably well.  We are still having problems with our feed (i.e., it was not being displayed/emailed with full text and images).  For some reason the posts were coming through in summary format without images.  After much purusing through the wordpress.org forums, Erin installed the Feedburner Plugin and just made a change to our original feed URL on Feedburner and now it looks like full text and images are showing up in the RSS feed.   I’m going to put some images in this post to see if the full text post show up in the email that comes out tomorrow from Feedburner.  Since we couldn’t find a lot of detailed documentation on this topic, we are not sure if the Plugin helped but we know changing the original feed URL did.  It’s still unclear if it will work on Firefox readers.

The other big issue we are working on now is the Subscribe to Comments feature.  I love that feature and first encountered it at the eMomsatHome blog.  It’s so nice to get notification of comments left after yours on a post so you know if someone answered your question or asked a question of you or just to see what people are saying so you can learn some new stuff!  We have installed the Plugin and we see all the appropriate boxes and fields.  We’ve entered what we think is the right information but it still seems as if it’s not working.   Apparently, we are not the only ones experiencing this same issue…see the comments on this post.  This is doubly troublesome because I’m also no longer getting email notifications when comments are made and held for moderation.  If I happen to log in to the admin site, I’ll all of a sudden see that there are comments waiting for approval!

So it looks like we will have to deactivate the Subscribe to Comments feature until the creator figures out what is happening.  Darn!  Slowly but surely I’m sure we’ll (or shall I say my husband) will figure them out.   🙂

Now for some images/pictures:

Baby Manager Web and Mobile

The official FeedBurner weblog.

Reading a Woman’s Mind??
Jul 16 2007

So some folks have developed a face recognition system to help read emotions.  I wonder what it would register for women who just had a baby who need/want to sleep?  Would it be the same feeling as if they wanted “ice cream or chocolate?”  I LOVE chocolate but I know my desire for sleep far outweighed my desire for chocolate on many occasions. 🙂

Via Engadget:

Dutch researchers Theo Gevers and Nicu Sebe, known mostly for their work deciphering the Mona Lisa’s smile, have created a face recognition system which can gauge a person’s level of happiness. The scientists, working with the multinational goods-manufacturer Unilever, created a face-tracking algorithm which maps video of a subject’s face into 3D regions, and then uses those regions to determine their level of pleasure. The tests followed European women’s reactions to eating five different foods: vanilla ice cream, chocolate, cereal bars, yogurt and apples. Unsurprisingly, the scientists discovered that women enjoyed eating ice cream and chocolate far more than an apple or yogurt — the latter even evoking “sad” expressions from 28% of test subjects. Unilever hopes to put the technology to work in creating products such as reduced-fat ice creams which elicit the same response as their full-fat counterparts, while the researchers will be launching a consumer version of the software sometime in August, as well as a website to analyze up to 1,000 user-provided photos daily.

Baby Tip by Babble Soft – Sleeping – July 16, 2007
Jul 16 2007

Learn how to sleep standing up.  Just kidding!  I found that when I was tired and our son didn’t want to be put down right after feeding, that laying him on my chest would relax us both.  I was always nervous wherever he slept when he was a newborn but when he was on my chest and I knew he wasn’t going to fall off I could rest a bit easier.  I’m not sure I ever really fell asleep but I knew that if he needed me I was right there. 🙂

Aruni

Picture my husband took of me and our son when he was just a few weeks old:

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Note to new readers: these tips are based on our experiences, as well as those of our friends and readers.  Please always consult with your doctor before implementing any tip that might impact the health of your baby.  If you have a tip you’d like to submit please send an email to babblesoft blogger for possible inclusion.  Please check the ‘baby tips’ category to make sure your tip (in some form or fashion) hasn’t already been posted.  If it has been, feel free to comment on that post and support the tip.  We also welcome respectful challenges to the tips because as is noted in our inaugural baby tip ‘everything is relative!’  We will, of course, give anyone who submits a tip we publish credit and a link back to their site!

Babble Soft’s Blog has moved to a self-hosted WordPress blog
Jul 15 2007

I have so enjoyed using our wordpress.com blog platform that we just moved to a self-hosted WordPress blog on our Rackspace server for even more flexibility.  A HUGE thanks to Wendy Piersall at eMomsatHome for her WordPress QuickStart Guide – WordPress Hosting and Installation and her WordPress QuickStart Guide – What Plugins should I use? posts.  I’m now working my way through her 32 Internet and Marketing and Homebased How-To’s post and the post by Tech Wise Guy on 7 Steps for conversion from wordpress.com to a self hosted wordpress was invaluable!

The biggest thanks go to my husband, Erin, for doing most of the heavy lifting and intalling the platform and plugins on our server! 🙂

We are still working on some Feedburner (i.e., RSS feed and email subscription management) set-up/transfer issues but they seem really helpful and we should be able to resolve those issues soon.

Aruni

Lady Bird Johnson – 94 years of a wonderful life
Jul 14 2007

Since we live in Austin, Texas we have probably experienced the great touch of Lady Bird more so than any other city.  She brought the Wildflower Center to life and helped manage the construction of the LBJ Presidential Library among other things.  Many well known political figures including the Clintons, the Carters, Laura & Barbara Bush, and Nancy Reagan are here today at Riverbend Church to pay their respects.  She was the first First Lady to have a press secretary and used her role as First Lady to actively help others.  I never had the honor of meeting Lady Bird, but I did have the honor of meeting her former well-known press secretary, Liz Carpenter.

I hope I’m able to make as significant a difference in the world as she has.

Aruni

Silicon Valley’s Baby Boom
Jul 13 2007

I just found out from reading Burningbird’s post called The Strk Commeth (or is that Stork?) that there is a site/blog called Valleywag (a gossip like blog that seems to be about the Valley’s tech entrepreneurs and investors).  Valleywag just did a post on Silicon Valley’s Baby Boom.  Seems like there are several new babies that have arrived or are arriving in the Bay Area including parents-to-be from Flickr and big time bloggers Robert and Maryam Scoble.  They just bought a real iPhone…not a hand knit one.

I’m in Austin, Texas which people sometimes refer to as Silicon Hills.  I wonder if there would be any interest here in having an Austinwag.  Hmmm.  I’m not sure if we’ve reached the same drama level as Silicon Valley though. 🙂

Aruni

Most moms actually prefer to work part-time! I didn’t realize this was news.
Jul 12 2007

Part-Time Looks Fine To Working Mothers 
By Donna St. George at washingtonpost.com
A new majority of working moms in the United States would be happiest in part-time jobs, with fewer seeing full-time work as an ideal, according to a study released today.

Fewer Mothers Prefer Full-Time Jobs:
Percent of mothers who said working full time, part time or not at all would be ideal for them.

I feel the same and that’s why I think working from home (even though to be honest my kids go to pre-school/care during the day) so that I can balance my time with my family is important.  Most of the time, I love my entrepreneurial career and I love hanging out with my kids.  🙂

I can take a day and spend it with my kids when I want.  When one of them is sick I can stay home with them.  I can also pay bills, clean the house,  do dishes, do some household shopping, etc.  Fortunately, my husband is a great Dad so if I have an offsite meeting to attend (like I did today) and he’s not traveling, he can usually stay with them if they are sick.

The one thing to be careful of is that sometimes when working from home and/or part-time, we end up working a lot more than we realize because we work on & off during the day thereby defeating the purpose of working part time/flexible hours to spend quality time with the kids.  It’s a tough balance that we moms (and dads) continue to strive for.  The Lactivist said it well in her Sucking it Up and Admitting You Aren’t Wonder Woman post.

Aruni

Success to Me: Marc Seriff, founding CTO of AOL
Jul 10 2007

As some of you may know, I co-write articles on the topic of success for alumni magazines with my wonderful writing partner Pam Losefsky.  Our latest article for The University of Texas at Austin’s alumni magazine, The Alcalde, is about Marc Seriff, founding CTO of America Online.   Our goal with this endeavor is to get people thinking about what success means to them by reading about how other people define success.  Click here to see other articles we have written.  We’d love to hear your thoughts…