Fatherhood What I Have learned thus far

It is amazing what you learn being a father


My son is now 8 months old.

I have learned how to function on little sleep ...thank goodness for the invention of Coffee
I have learned that he is control of life not me anymore
I have learned that i no longer have time to do stuff and if i do it takes longer
I have learned to distinguish cries in the nigt or at least make a good guess as to what the problem is
I have learned they grow quick and he is only 8 months

Kids should come with warning labels -
1. When changing a diaper a gas mask may be required
2. Anything you wear will be spit up on

I know I will learn alot more as time goes by that is for sure
He has changed my life

Mattis Man Pictures May and June 2010

Here are some recent Pictures of the Mattis man

The Family and Mels parents Ottwa May 20, 2010

Mattis Enjoying the Day In Ottawa

Mattis Man Enjoying the 150th Burford Fair Parade on May 29, 2010 it was pre fair which is Thanksgiving weekend

Mattis and Auntie Marg Enjoying some time together.  First time He meet His Great Aunt Marg

You Boy present "What is present and why this bag what do i do with this" ... Maybe there is food in here.

A growing Little Mattis

It is amazing how quick kids grow especially in there earlier years. Our little guy is 8 months and wow has he changed. He has gone from not being able to do much of anything to being a curious little boy.
He is now eating toast and enjoying it. When they are born you think it will be forever before I will get a good night sleep or they will doing this or that but voila before you know it they are doing something incredible.

Holding themselves in the bath using you as a chew toy. They are small milestones but yet all so monumental in some small way that make you proud of that little human.

They frustrate you but yet you can't help but love them as they are demanding but don't really ask for that much from life. All they really ask for is to be loved and for your wisdom on life.

It makes you realize there is much more to life then what is going on even in Toronto as I write this article. Yes the G20 summit and all its protests really mean nothing when you are a parent enjoying your children as they are some how more important. It could be since you can control it to some reason but can't control the idiocy of the rest of the world.

In 8 months he has gone from sleeping eating and crying to smiling interacting playing and making unique sounds and gestures. He has developed a personality all his own. Well maybe a combination of Mum and Dad Serious and Silly. He love to do what we do well at least try he loves the computer. Well at least pounding on the keys. He has managed to open programs and send e-mails while pounding away.

Here is a video from today of the Mattis man




I am truly enjoying what father hood brings to ones life and am looking forward to the growing Mattis discover the world around him

Cleaning the House .. Memories Abound

We are trying to organize the house and it is amazing what you find as you go through what have accumulated over the years; and how each time you can eliminate more unneeded items.

I work as a Computer Consultant and Systems Administrator and my wife as a teacher.
I was going through old cables and found Serial splitters and adapters from cell phones long gone, as well as games i haven't played in years.  I decided to keep the games maybe I will play them again someday.  These games were from single days before my wife and Son when I had time to waste.
They were: Civilization, Sim City, Joan of Arc Pirates, Diplomacy, Risk to name a few that i played for hours on end to the wee hours of the morning.
I found items that I have no idea why I kept them I guess as a just in case item.  I think as humans we always want to have that just in case but when we need it we go buy another.

I have enough network cables to cable my whole house why everything I have now is wireless.  I guess the old just in case scenario.

I have USB keys of all sizes with items created and backups from years gone by.

I have memories of times and places that bring back memories and emotions that rush back in.
I live in a world of items do i really need them all Iguess some are for a reason and will remain until the next cleaning when I decide that some of them are no longer needed.

Ottawa Adventures May 2010

I know we are at the end of June the plan was to put them up here earlier but oh well better late the never that is what I always say

I have time to psot a few things both the little guy and Mum are sleeping.

Mattis had his first camping adventure in May we met Mels parents in Ottawa and he got to see our nations captital and go on a boat ride.

Mattis enjoyed camping but not the sleeping in the play pen not hard enough didn't like the sinking feeling but when he got to sleep he was good.

Mattis Man in Ottawa enjoying the day it was hot so he is loosing a layer of clothes

 The Rideau Canal Locks in Ottawa an Engineering marvel of its time to read about the click here information about the Rideau Canal

A view from Parliament Hill looking over Ottawa what a site

Cat Parliament yes here in Canada the cats have an elected assembly well not really byut if the did I am sure there society would be less beuaracratic than ours.  To find out more about the cats of parliament hill

The Family on Parliament Hill May 20 2010

It was a fun adventure by all and Mattis had a good time I am sure as he was always smiling

oh yeah the boat ride  Picture of Mattis on the boat below

Last but not least Mattis chilling in the trailer

Many more adventures to come with our happy little traveller

Social Networks

We are now attached like never before to the world around us.
Social Networkd Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Linked in.
Instant Messaging from your phone or from your computer using MSN, AIM, Google Talk to name a few.

There is no excuse for not being available in todays world of Technology unless you unplug yourself from the world around you.
Your friends are a friend list away the know your every move your every Tweet.  They are there if you want to talk or have a shoulder to cry on or just a person to talk too.

Terms and words mean new things Tweet is no longer the sound a bird makes but something a human does from their cellphones or computer they tweet what the are doing.  You can follow friends celebrates or just joe average.

So Tweet on Blog on the world is yorus to learn.
I enjoy what I know i know i do it connects the world on a level like never before.
You can keep in touch and reconnect with lost frineds from highschool post pictures in an instant so all can see the new addition.  They can share and sympathize with you and you with them.

Anti-Virus and Mal-ware software

It is hard for the average person to determine the best course of action or the best Anti-Virus Software or Mal-ware software to use
What is mal-ware it is software that comes from a website and is unwanted. This type of Software comes in via security holes in Internet Explorer, Firefox or other web browsers as well as in the Operating System

The best way to stop this from happening is to update your computer with the latest service packs and hotfixes from Microsoft. if you are unable to do so contact a Computer Solutions Company to help.

Sorting out the flavours to remove Mal-ware if you get it
There are so many out there so many flavours
In the home user market the possibilities are endless which one is the best.
I have tried various kinds in order to help make the average person make an informed decision what I have come up with is listed below.
1. Mal-ware Bytes - free and easy to use and removes 99.9% of what is out there if it is kept up to date available from http://www.malwarebytes.org/
2. Super-AntiSpyware free or paid version available from http://www.superantispyware.com/
3. Adaware has been around along time and is still reliable but doesn't remove alot of the current ones out there but it does allow you to control what comes in by monitoring your system with Ad-watch.
There are other ones out there but I have had the luck with these.
The Anti-Virus Dilema what is best.

1. Norton Anti-Virus - is a good one but it has a tendancy to bog down systems with its real time scans and can be annoying when you are trying to do something - it also has alot of other features such as built in firewalls and other protection that makes it more cumbersome and a true resource hog. Norton has Live update set it and forget it
2. Avast Free Edition - is easy to use and does a good job of removing the majority of viruses and doesn't tie up resources with unneeded monitoring you can set it to scan when you want and how you want. It also has live update options as well
3. AVG Anti-Virus is easy to use and does a good job of removing the majority of viruses and doesn't tie up resources with unneeded monitoring you can set it to scan when you want and how you want. It also has live update options as well
In order to best protect your machine it is best to run an Anti-Virus program along with an Anti Mal-ware program scanning from time to time or when you notice a slow down in your machine.
A firewall is also another way to help stop unwanted software and attacks and will be covered in another post

Duncan Computer Services offers solutions in Brant County and Surrounding areas