Father knows best

Here's a few things I've learned in my 6 weeks of fatherhood:

1) Nothing is as frustrating as dressing your son up for a night on the town (e.g. 6pm-7:15pm) just to have him poop his pants mere seconds after finishing the last button on the three-layered Winnie-the-Pooh outfit. The best analogy I can give is when you get ready for work, take a shower, get dressed, put on your suit, shoes, and belt, and as you are tightening the knot on your tie....you poop your pants.

2) You think you can do things one-handed, but you can't - don't fool yourself men, you can't eat dinner while holding the baby in your lap, change the TV channel while feeding him, or try and get his bottle ready while he cries in your arms. You'll end up with a baby who is covered in dinner scraps, full of gas, and who is really upset. Not that I have done any of these things, I'm just saying...

3) Projectile vomit/poop is not as funny as you thought it was. Peeing in the air however lives up to the hype.

4) Farting is now cute and funny. Take advantage of this.

5) The DVR is now your common-law relative. You might be thinking, there's lots on TV at 4am, right? Wrong.

6) Truck accessories now include a car seat, baby mirror, and emergency diaper kit. If the truck breaks down I am in a pinch, but if the baby has a blow-out we're all good.

7) Every three hours he needs to be fed and changed, much like me.

Pappa needs some new shoes

Amazon has some great deals on Kenneth Cole Reaction shoes - don't confuse these with their "Unlisted" brand, the Reaction line is higher quality with wood heels, top grain leather, etc. My current pair have been meeting the business casual dress code since 2002, but need to be retired. I went with the T-Flex Oxford for $23.99. Add some batteries to get free shipping, or spend $100 and get $20 off.

New profile pic...

Check out my new profile pic on FaceBook. William and I crashed on the couch after my Dad's birthday party....

Spread the Wealth

I discovered Google Docs today, and really love the functionality. I had seen a short video on how it works (see below), but I am really impressed with how it could simplify my file management. For example...

Based on my friend Bryan's approach to monthly expense, I started a spreadsheet (in 2005) that Susan and I use to track costs each month. The hard part is entering in every small expense into the sheet each day - but, if you want to spend it you need to log it. The mere thought of having to log another $7 for lunch keeps me brown-bagging it every day, and overall it keeps you aware of your expenses and thrifty (some would say cheap).

It works very well when you have time on your hands, but with the new baby it is a challenge. A couple bucks here, a diaper or two there and you start to give up. This is where Google Docs comes in - Google keeps a copy of your spreadsheet on their server, and you can access it from anywhere, including your phone, and make updates. Very slick. I find myself wanting to make updates but the file is at home and I'm on the road. This solves that problem...now how do I buy diapers on the cheap?

Fall Baby Fall

If anything has been reaffirmed for me during the stock market plunge the last two weeks, it's that if you need the money soon, don't invest it in stocks. I've been a little loose with this rule buying up Apple and Google with some extra cash, and it costs me. I got out of Google at $400, taking a 16% loss - Google is not around $350. I waited too long on Apple, and now I must wait for a rebound - my current loss is 36%. So, here are the rules I should have played by, and it would have made for a much calmer week:

1) If you need the cash in the next 12 months, invest in a money market account
2) If you need the cash in next 12-24 months, invest in CDs or bonds/t-bills
3) For a term longer than 2 yrs, consider a mix of the above plus lower risk mutual funds
4) For retirement use your IRA/401K account and get risky- in my case, I don't need the money for 40 years - and that is a long time in market standards. Knowing that your funds have 4 decades to mature can give you some peace of mind. Plus if you get nervous and want to pull the money back into your checking/savings you'll be rebuffed by the tax penalty. PS. I've lost 30% of my retirement fund this year - I can't imagine the pressure on the millions of people who were planning to retire soon or already retired...

Fun with V8s

As the market tanks, its time to revisit my muscle car reviews and see if these fuel devouring, totally impractical, pompous rides have dropped in price. In pure engineering fashion, I keep a spreadsheet of cars I see in the paper, Autotrader, ebay, etc, so that I can track the market on these bad boys in case, just perchance, I should opt to purchase one. To qualify for the sheet the car must be a V8 coupe with a manual transmission. I then make my assessment based on dollar per horsepower - this keeps it less emotional.

Here are some of the diamonds in the rough...current winner is the 1997 Z28....

	Year	Make	Model	Package	Miles	Cost	Horsepower	$$$/HP	Link
	2005	Ford	Mustang	GT - Roush Stage 1	47000	17900	305	$ 58.69	http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=233332109&dealer_id=565730
	1998	Ford	Mustang	Cobra	60000	8500	305	$ 27.87	http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=246608526&dealer_id=570024
	2004	Pontiac	GTO		40000	16880	350	$ 48.23	http://north.beckmasten.com/Pre-Owned-EDP.aspx?InventoryId=25106195
	2003	Ford	Mustang	Cobra	33000	20000	420	$ 47.62	http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=251307916&dealer_id=598860
	2004	Pontiac	GTO		74000	12000	350	$ 34.29	http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=247225806&dealer_id=100016426
	2004	Pontiac	GTO		23000	14000	350	$ 40.00	http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=p&car_id=252424086&dealer_id=63362563
	2004	Pontiac	GTO	Borla, Tires, Black/Red	40000	15000	350	$ 42.86	http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/849504773.html
	1999	Pontiac	Trans AM		74000	8000	305	$ 26.23	http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=252918977&dealer_id=19505290
	1997	Camaro	Z28	30th / Stripes / Rotors	65000	6500	285	$ 22.81	http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___1997-Chevy-Camaro-30th-Annversary-Edition_W0QQitemZ180296767763QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item180296767763&_trkparms=72%3A727%7C39%3A1%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245