Letters to Grandma

An unexpected package arrived in the mail for me today from my Aunt Nancy. In it was a bundle of letters I had written to my grandmother over the years. Aunt Nancy had collected them and mailed them out to their respective authors.

My aunt also included a note, part of which reads:

“In this age of electronic communications, there may not be much of a permanent record of your life. But, these letters are part of your history. You can enjoy them … or throw them away. I just thought you should be the one to make that decision.”

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Benjamin Franklin

Last week Netflix delivered us a DVD that neither Kelly nor I could remember adding to our queue. It was the PBS documentary on Benjamin Franklin and it offered just the thing to do on a hot Fourth of July.

Ben Franklin was born to invent. He invented constantly and reinvented himself constantly as well. He was intensely curious and never afraid to fly by the seat of his pants, comfortable with figuring things out as he went. Without his unique skills, the United States would not exist.

The more I learn about Franklin, the more I admire him. The documentary really brought him to life, too. It reminded me again how Franklin was one of the greatest Americans ever.

I’ll have to find time to read his autobiography.

Google Maps captures me capturing it

Who’s that weirdo in the bushes with the camera?


I saw the Google Maps car parked outside the Crabtree Blvd. Bank of America last week. It reminded me to check to see if Google Maps has been updated from the last trip the camera-equipped car drove through.

Remember last year when I spotted the Google Maps car as it drove through the neighborhood and I couldn’t wait to see the bald guy with the camera standing in the driveway? Well, here he is!

Light-Bot: A fun way to learn programming

Now that their school is out for the summer, I was looking for a simple yet fun way for the kids to learn programming. There are plenty of programming languages I could start them on but that seemed like it might seem like too much work.

Thanks to a blog post from Marshall Brain, though, I found this Adobe Flash game called Light-Bot. Players devise a series of commands to move Light-Bot across a grid and light up all the blue tiles on the grid. The number of commands the player can use is limited and there are two functions that the player can use to automate repetitive tasks. Using these tools, the player can have fun playing while at the same time learn a little about logic and programming.
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