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Information Age

I went to the doctor today for a consult before I attempted to get pregnant again (because of my miscarriage history). I left thinking about God's sovereignty and humans worshipping at the idol of data (I had some metropolis-like imagery of humans worshipping a giant computer in my head at this point, but that's neither here nor there.).

The doctor told me that "the data now shows" that women shouldn't get pregnant earlier than 18 months after giving birth. Other than opinions of child-spacing, I hadn't heard this from a medical standpoint before. I asked her why and she said that women who did so had a higher risk of anemia. I asked her to tell me more about anemia and she said it had side effects such as exhaustion and feeling too tired to get up and work (at which I said, "Man, I must already have anemia!" She didn't think it was funny. I followed this up by saying, "Isn't that just the sign of new parents? Exhausted? Too tired to do work?" Again, she was clearly not amused, which made me question if I ever wanted to see her again. How can you not think that's funny!?! So sad.).

So, I asked her what the chances were of getting anemia and she said she did "not have access to that data." So, I'm thinking, do half of all women get it? Or like 1 in 10,000? Because, if we're going to be swinging data around to help me determine my life's path, then I want to know all of the data.

I feel afraid for this information age. I feel that many have replaced God with data and statistics and market analysis and anything else that gets run through a computer. When you are afraid, see what the data tells you to find strength in. When you are hopeless, the data will tell you your best shot at success. When you have given up, the data will give you the strength to carry on (or tell you if you were right to give up!).

This reminds me of when my dad used to do his research at the University and, after giving years worth of data to the statistician, would be asked, "And how do you want this data to read?" Meaning, what is your report on so we can skew the data in your favor? My dad would usually respond, "Just run the numbers and you tell me if you see anything worthwhile. Then we'll know how it reads." He was a rebel.

The thing that data-worshippers are missing is that data and statistics can be manipulated in so many ways. Regardless of what the numbers say, human error has it's fingerprints all over most data (poorly written measuring tools, personal bias, skewing of numbers, leaving out pertinent information, etc.) It isn't something you can trust, and it isn't something you should lean on as your life's guide. And it definitely isn't something to stake your life on.

Granted, I'm not saying that looking at data is bad or evil. I think there are times when data is very relevant and very telling. But, in this case, I think it's probably not as big of a deal as my doctor made it out to be. (But, if I come on later and announce that I have anemia, you can toss out a quality Nelson Muntz "Ha-HA!" to me...)

In the end, I trust God's sovereign plan for my life. He will decide how many babies I lose, and how many babies I give birth to, and how many children we adopt. Whether it be many or none. He rules over my family and I yield to Him. I trust him far more than anything spit out by a computer.

I Am Not Unemployed

I was giving information at my new medical clinic and they asked me, among other questions, what my occupation was. I answered, "Homemaker." I still cringe a bit when I say it, probably mostly because I'm worried that the person I'm talking to will think homemakers are lame. (I read a study recently that said much of America's population thinks homemakers contribute to society the same as the elderly, blind, and retarded. It's a terrible study on many fronts, but I won't go into all that here.)

The girl I was giving the information to reviewed the information and, when she got to occupation, said "Unemployed." I stopped her. I said, "No, I'm not unemployed, I'm a homemaker." And she said, "Well, you don't have a job, so that would make you unemployed." I responded that the word "unemployed" insinuated that I was without or looking for work, and that that was not the case.

She was clearly frustrated with me at this point and explained that her pulldown menu didn't have "homemaker" on it. So, I told her to select "education" or "maid" or "counselor" or "manager" or some other job that described a sliver of what I do. She said she couldn't do that because it would be lying. So, I copped out a bit (poor girl) and said, "I've been a teacher for many years, I have my master's degree in education, why don't you just mark me as 'Education' then." She was satisfied with that.

Ugh. I hate stuff like this.

Phishing

After I ordered some invitations through Apple, I got an e-mail:

From: Apple
Subject: IMPORTANT: Billing Problem

Thinking that it was something messed up with the invites I just ordered, I opened the e-mail. It had Apple images, even Apple's font. It said:

"We were unable to process your most recent payment. Did you recently change your bank, phone number or credit card?

"To ensure that your service is not interrupted, please update your billing information by clicking here , After a few clicks, just verify the information you entered is correct."

I should have noticed the typos. I should have noticed the lame way it was written. I clicked on the link. The site looked like Apple's site. It even said that if I had questions I could call 1-800-myapple for help, which I know is Apple's number. The website asked for my name, address, credit card, social security #, mother's maiden name.... I thought, "They already know my name and address, why would they request it? (Flag!) Since when do businesses need a social security # or my mother's maiden name to make a transaction (Flag!)."

I looked at the web address, which was NOT Apple's site. Here's a fake version of what it looked like (I don't want to give the real one lest the bastards get web traffic): http://somelamecompanyname.net/www.apple.com. Case closed, this is clearly an example of phishing.

I realize that this is obvious to most of my friends who read this blog. But, I worry about those who are not in-the-know and just want to over-emphasize my suggestions.

1. Always be aware of who you are giving your credit card info to over the web. Make sure it is secure & with a trusted company.
2. Check for changes in web address. If it sends you to some random place, discontinue the transaction.
3. Check for phishers. Make sure the website you are looking at is the *real* one by checking the URL and looking for any oddities.
4. Be wary of who you give your private info to. I even started asking, "Why do you need my social security number?" to many of the places that ask for it. Usually, it's not required, so don't give it. They asked for it when I applied for a library card. It got me all paranoid about the government tracking my reading... turns out it's optional to put down (if it was required I may have just walked...)
5. Consider getting identity theft insurance. We have Lifelock. Your regular car/home insurance provider may also have it, so check with them. I would go on about the how Lifelock works, but just check out their site for yourself if you're interested.

Normally I wouldn't have even gone for the e-mail I got. But, I just happened to get it a few minutes after doing a transaction with Apple. I assume it was a coincidence. And, let it also be known that I just tried to go to that fake site to get a screenshot of it for this post, but it was gone. Gee, I wonder why.

For those who didn't know about this kind of thing happening on the Net, you have been warned. Think about it. Keep it in your head.

Caleb Calls Ella Successfully

Caleb Watches His Dogs 6, originally uploaded by StephLewis.

Today, Caleb and I were hanging out in the yard with the dogs. Though he had been saying "Ella" for quite some time now, the dogs never paid any attention to him. Today, that changed. He looked at Ella, raised his hand, and said, "Ella! Ella! Ella-ella-ella-ella!" And she actually came to him! She looked up and ran right over. Boy did Caleb freak out.

Later, today, when we were inside, he picked up Henson's toy, looked at him, raised the toy in the air, and tried his "Ella" call again. Henson ignored him, but Ella came out from under a blanket and came up to him. She licked him and he handed her the toy. (Henson came over and snatched the toy from her because that's just the way he is.)

My boy sure does love his doggies.

My Failures as a Parent

My failures as a parent currently include the following:

1. Animal Sounds
We have an animal book that is really fantastic. I point to the pictures and say, "This is a lion, he says ROAR!" Caleb loves it. We read this book more than any other book and Caleb looks at it by himself a lot, turning the pages back and forth, banging on it, and babbling on about it. Anyway, there I so many animals that I have no sound for. Hippo? Giraffe? Koala? Meerkat? Is there some kind of animal sound parental tutorial I can take?

2. Girly Fingernails
I hate cutting baby fingernails. They grow way too fast and are sharp little things, so you have to keep on top of it. But, I'm bad at it. They get long and I usually don't cut them until I notice scratches on my skin from him squeezing my arm flab too hard. I have to wait until he's in a deep sleep, then trim them very quickly and carefully lest I wake him. There have been so many times I put him down to sleep thinking, "I have to cut his nails this time." And then I forget. And they grow longer. And I get my arm flab pinched some more.

3. Booklight Attachment
Around this age, babies will often develop an attachment to a favorite toy or blanket. My child is attached to my bright pink booklight. I've kept it at my bedside ever since he was born so that I could read in the dark rooms where he nursed and fell asleep. He knows where I keep it and will get it and carry it around the house. He loves the bendy neck on it, the clip is a source of endless joy, and he also knows how to hit the button to turn it on, dim it, and then turn it off. My kid is weird. I've been trying to get him to attach to Grover, but so far it's not working. I could hide my booklight and make him go cold turkey, but then I wouldn't be able to read in the dark anymore.

*Long Sigh*

Day at the Beach 27, originally uploaded by StephLewis.

We finished unpacking last week. Yes. Finished. Even pictures are hung. There is not one box left (except some of Josh's boxes that are mashed with cords, old software, and Mission Control tapes... but those are his problem and not mine). It feels fantastic to be unpacked and I feel like I can finally stretch my arms and enjoy it a bit.

One joy of being unpacked is that my house is not a deathtrap to babies anymore. This is good, considering that I have a baby. Just in time too. In the last two weeks, Caleb has started cruising quite well. He can open cabinets and drawers (and dump their contents everywhere). He can go up stairs very quickly. He can "walk" by pushing one of those baby-pushy-help-you-walk things. On a good day, I've seen him scramble onto the couch (not crawl, scramble, it's more like a strange baby dance). So, I need a baby-proofed house. And now I have one.

Caleb's language has also been making great strides, which I am loving. He now consistently uses "Ahh-Duh" (all done) to announce when he is done eating or done taking a bath. Sometimes he will use the sign for "finished" instead. He says "da da" in reference to Josh. He says "Ella" very clearly to Ella, but doesn't call every dog in the world "Ella" anymore. They are now "Duh" (dog). His favorite word right now is "Aight!" (light), which he says to pretty much anything that has a light coming out of it. He emphasizes the "t" sound so much that it sometimes sounds more like "aight-TA!" I sat him in the hatchback of my car while I took off his swim trunks and he kept banging the light in there going, "Aight! Aight! Aight!" It was pretty funny.

Caleb loves swimming. We go to the beach pretty regularly and he really enjoys the water. We do all of the little things we learned in swim class, and he just squeals. I love the beach because Caleb loves it, and it's really relaxing for us both.

Oh, and Caleb got his first haircut yesterday. I took him to the hair salon and sat him in my lap and read him stories while the girl tried to cut his hair. His hair basically looks the same, only it's evened up now. He had some patches of super long hairs here and there, and now it all flows much better. Still looks like a baby though. I got my hair cut into a bob with long layers. We'll see how long that lasts.

I'm working on redesigning my blog. It is currently a horrid design disaster that is a result of (1) my designing it before I knew anything about good design, and (2) trying to get stuff up so my family could use it without actually paying attention to how it looked, and (3) being so busy that I just didn't care. Actually, the layout is all done, but I just have to transfer the stuff to Photoshop so my hottie of a developer can make it work for me. I'm also working on getting fighterverse.com up and running and have some cool ideas for it. I have also decided to let go of hydeart.com because I don't work there anymore. It's such a pretty site, I hate to see it die.

Well, that's the quick catch up on what's going on with Caleb and me. Life is good right now and I'm just enjoying the many sweet moments that have come my way.