A lot has changed in the 5-plus years since the release of Baby 1.0. We’ve seen massive developments in both input and output language parsing, and the implementation of a self-cleaning function has been a godsend. Baby 1.0 has also reached the point where we can send it out to a development facility for several hours each day.

Since Baby 1.0 we’ve had quite a number of attempts to get hold of a new model, with a distinct lack of success. Thankfully, back on the 12th of August, we acquired a brand new version.

We’ve spent three weeks testing the new model Baby 2.0, and it has been a mixture of surprise and familiarity. The first surprise was the new quality control facility that had been constructed since 1.0. The facility is bright and clean, with much better views than the previous one. Great work to all involved.

The acquisition of Baby 2.0 was much more controlled than 1.0. With 1.0 we had to battle with the production facility for some 30 hours before finally resorting to a manual retrieval. After the failures with 1.1 and 1.2, the experts suggested we pre-book a retrieval for 2.0. We did this, and everything went swimmingly well. The package arrived intact, with all the correct parts. It was a little smaller than 1.0 (3.9kg vs 4.15kg), but equally appealing to look at. We did of course have no opportunity to select between the two main versions, but have ended up with one of each, which is great.

In general, Baby 2.0 has been equivalent to 1.0 in terms of behaviour and usability. The integrated alarm function is still poorly calibrated, waking us up several times a night. It took us several months to debug this function in 1.0, and I’ m hoping we can do the same with 2.0. The new model has a greatly improved ingestion system however, requiring very little help and causing a heck of a lot less pain and anguish than 1.0.

Overall I’m very happy with the acquisition. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. 5 stars out of 5!

Popularity: 8% [?]

We have voted no. Regardless of my personal vote, the democratic outcome is that a vast majority of votes cast were of the opinion that smacking as “part of good parental correction” should not be a criminal offence. I’m not going to fiddle with numbers as some others have done to claim an apathetic majority. That’s not how democracy works. If you don’t vote, you don’t get a voice.

So then. A few months ago I made my personal opinion clear. Reading that post again, I still stand by it, with some clarification. After discussions with many people I hold to be wonderful parents with truly incredible kids, I’ve changed part of my opinion. You may not care, but purely for positioning, I accept now that smacking should not be a criminal offence in all cases, and frankly I’m a little ashamed that I’ve said otherwise. I truly do not wish criminal charges against any of the people I know who happen to smack their kids. Hopefully you can accept that one man’s dogma can be altered by exposure to fact.

The law, as it stands, clearly allows for “justifiable force” in several instances. These cover the range that most people would hold to be reasonable: avoiding danger, stopping disruptive behaviour, etc.. What the law does criminalise, and what I remain against, is the use of physical punishment for correction after the fact. I’d love to hear from the majority if they intended their “No” vote to enable physical punishment for correction, as opposed to instantaneous intervention.

If the question had been “Should a smack, as an instant intervention requirement, be a criminal offence”, I would have voted no. Would you have voted “Yes” if the question were “Should a smack, as a premeditated action intended to correct misbehaviour more than x minutes after the event, be a criminal offence?”. Or am I utterly barking up the wrong tree?

I ask this because as I read more and more online discussions about smacking and physical correction, the misinformation is utterly baffling. I’ve seen the argument that all mammals use physical correction, so it’s natural. I don’t however remember seeing a mammal hit its offspring some hours after the original event took place.

Please, this is not judgemental in any way. I’m truly, deeply interested in how to make this work, because it’s obvious that a minority of us don’t understand. You the majority owe me nothing, but I’d love to chat about your intentions so I can learn.

P.S. I remain a bit offended at Larry Baldock cheering like a madman at the result, after he was quoted as saying “I’m not opposed to the wooden spoon or ruler because you can control things with that better than you can with an open hand.” However I do understand he is on the fringe and not representative of many people who voted “No”.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Please forgive the lack of posts for the next couple of weeks. I’m deeply involved in the circle of life at the moment.

Dad passed away on Wednesday, and we’re expecting baby 2.0 this Wednesday. Both a blessing and a curse all in the space of a week.

Wallace Gracewood

My engineer brain can’t help but observe the feelings I’m having with deep interest. I often marvel at the cognitive dissonance when you imagine diving into the sea on an acid-cold Winter day. Yet that same grey, icy sea is so welcoming in February.

Perhaps the only way to truly appreciate life is to witness death first hand? Or the best way to understand the warmth and love of family is to have a member torn away from you too soon?

Hard and Soft. Yin and Yang.

Death and Life.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The morning after my father died, the NZ Herald had this article on their front page. The first signs of Spring – cherry blossoms, daffodils – have always brought a smile to my face. I smiled at the image, and then … well … didn’t smile.

Spring is a wonderful metaphor for what we’ve been going through these last couple of weeks. Our gorgeous new baby girl arrived one week, almost to the hour, after Dad died. The timing, while far too early for Wallace, was logistically perfect. Dad always had lists and calendars. Bookings and management – everything organised to a tee. He was the same in his death: the drinks trolley rolled past his hospice room at 5pm. We had time to charge our glasses, and then he slipped away gently at 6:15pm. Yes, the drinks trolley. St Joseph’s Mercy Hospice is a wondrous place. Part hotel, part hospital, and completely caring.

So with the arrival of Amelie, it will truly be springtime in the Fleming-Gracewood household. The end of an unusually cold winter. The closing of one chapter and the opening of another. Spring also marks the transition from one extreme to another. Have you ever walked on a beach in winter, looking at the icy grey sea, and imagined diving in? Isn’t it weird that that same sea is so incredibly inviting on a hot summer day?

Those summer days are made all the more wonderful because we remember the frosty winter mornings.

Without cold, we wouldn’t know what warmth is.

Without death, we wouldn’t know what life is. Read more…

Popularity: 2% [?]

It’s been a bit ungadgety around here lately, but never fear! I’ve got some cool stuff coming up in the next couple of weeks:

• Reviewing the new Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit.
• Reviewing the Arduino starter kit from Mindkits.co.nz
• Giving away an LG HFB-500 Bluetooth hands-free kit
• Noisy and fast gadgets for Fathers’ day.
• A new daughter.
• …and more.

On the personal front, I’m speaking at the PRiNZ Northern networking event tonight, and attending Vodafone’s mid-winter christmas dinner on Friday. It’s a hard life!

Also, a quick plug for my wonderful employers, who are trucking along having yet another incredible year.

Popularity: 3% [?]