Thursday, July 31st, 2008 07:28

Yesterday I started working on a new version of patrickgallant.com which will hopefully be able to showcase some of the new concepts in web design that I’ve learned in the last four years.  The site right now is just about the music I have recorded, but I want the new site to be more than that.  I want it to be about me and the concept of creating things.

I have this inner need to be creative.  I feel that creative need has been somewhat suppressed in recent months, whether it be due to changes in work or life, my recent back injury and seemingly unending onslaught of medical issues or what have you.  That need is dying to be released.

I guess I’ve always loved to make new things. I love woodworking and creating things with my hands, which I attribute to my father.  I love to draw and create artwork.  I (obviously) love to create and play music.  I love photography and trying to capture interesting images.  I love designing web sites and user interfaces.

So this new site will be more representative of the whole me, not just the musical part (which undoubtedly is a huge part).

One thing that I have been working on diligently is a cross-stitch piece of artwork for my newborn daughter that I started when Pauline was only a few months pregnant.  It is a very time-consuming activity with a lot of attention to detail.  One thing Pauline has helped me with understanding is that I need to focus more on completing one task before moving on to another; it seems I tend to like to start a lot of projects…oy, I have so many unfinished ones it makes my head spin.

So I’m focusing on this one thing…this expression of creativity and love for my new daughter.  Every night after the children are asleep I lie in bed next to my wife while she watches her favorite TV shows and I work on the cross-stitch.  We talk.  We lie together in silence.  We are together.  We’ve been through a lot together, but the love between us has grown.  Lying there in bed, working on a piece of art, in silence I feel the connection between the two of us.

I feel for the first time in a long while that my life has turned a corner.  The last several months (year or more?) there has been a darkness and I feel that darkness has lifted.

This post is probably a bit scattered, but I’m writing it without bothering to organize my thoughts in a more coherent manner.  I need to get this written down.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 07:24

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything of substantial content.  I suppose I can attribute it to any of the usual reasons… I’m busy, I’m lazy, I don’t have anything I feel like writing about.  At any rate, I guess this is just an entry to show that I’m alive and haven’t forgotten about the blog.

Weight Check

Weight: 191 lbs
Net Change: –8lbs
BMI: 25.9 (overweight)

Weight Check

Weight: 194lbs
Net Change: –5lbs
BMI: 26.3 (overweight)

Friday, July 18, 2008 08:27

Finally got my laptop hooked up to my TV correctly.  Turns out my port-replicator/docking station has DVI out, so just docking the laptop and running a DVI to HDMI cable solved the issue.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 07:45

I got the idea yesterday of creating a home media center, backing up our DVDs to a 250GB external HD I have in the basement collecting dust and planned on using my laptop as the controlling “brain” of the whole thing.  Since I’m running Vista Ultimate, WMC (Windows Media Center) is already built in.  The only caveat in my plan is that my laptop only has VGA output.

I went to Radio Shack and bought a VGA to DVI-A adapter and a DVI to HDMI cable (as well as a 1/8” to audio L-R cable).  Of course, it doesn’t work because I’m trying to convert an analog signal (that’s what the “A” in DVI-A stands for) to a digital signal.  Converter boxes exist, but they’re expensive and I really don’t want to spend a lot of money on what is basically just a fun little home project.  If I did want to spend money for this, I’d just buy a computer with an HDMI output.

So, my next step is to return the cable and adapter to RadioShack and pick up a VGA to Component cable.  This is much cheaper and should do the trick.  Component cables can carry up to 1080p resolution, so the only limiting factor will be the video output capabilities of the laptop.  It supports 1280×800 resolution, so I think I should be able to get at least 720i out of it (as opposed to 480i for a standard DVD player).  We do have an upscaling DVD player that upscales to 1080i, so if I really wanted the best picture, that remains the way to go.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 06:00

Up this morning at 04:00.  Our newborn slept from 23:30 last night until then which was a great stretch of sleep time.  Since we brought her home she has typically been up in the 02:00-0:300 range every morning to eat.  After helping Pauline out and putting I back to bed it was 04:45 so I figured I might as well get up, rather than attempt to go back to bed just to wake up a half hour later in a much more groggy state.

I know it’s cliche, but again witnessing the birth of one of my children is an absolute miracle.  Our little daughter was born in the evening on July 2nd and we brought her home on the 4th.  Her two older siblings have been fantastic about the whole deal. 

Yesterday I returned to work with only 345 emails to process in my inbox.  I was able to fix one defect yesterday (hooray for two lines of code!) and am setting a goal of fixing three today.

Weight Check

I haven’t been blogging in a while due to paternity leave but will try and post something of substance when I get caught up with stuff today.

Weight: 196lbs
Net Change: –3lbs
BMI: 26.6 (overweight)

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 0708

Baby Watch 2008 continues.  About 0100 Pauline thought she might be going into labor but it was a false alarm.  She’s very uncomfortable, but the baby continues to move around.  We have another doctor’s appointment tomorrow.

Last night was H’s first T-ball practice.  She was a bit shy and apprehensive about it at first, but she soon made a friend to start playing catch with.  I think the work I did with her over the weekend (showing her how to hold the bat, glove, etc.) helped.  She was the last one to get a chance to bat off the tee and she strode up to the tee with a lot of confidence.  She waited for the coach to be watching and then she hit a rip of a fly ball out to right field…best hit of the night by anyone on her team.  She was so excited and I was so proud of her.

It’s great being a dad.