Stroller Shopping

We're looking at a range of transportation options for our baby. We're going through the various strollers, frontpacks, backpacks, carseats, etc. So far we've concluded:

• We will be taking public transport most of the time, or at least while we remain in Vancouver. A carseat would be a luxury that we might use if we catch a taxi. Not really a necessity.
• We would like a stroller that can fold up to something fairly compact and light. Everywhere we go, travelling or at home, we're short on space. Even when in use, a compact stroller is probably better for us. We not forced to fold up a stroller on Vancouver buses, but you don't want it to take up heaps of space either.
• We'd like a stroller where the baby can lie completely flat. This is necessary for newborns. Even if we don't put a newborn in the stroller, it can be an advantage for older children who want to nap.
• We'd like a stroller where the baby can face whoever is pushing it. Some studies show that having your baby facing towards you is better for their development. I don't think that either Emily or I will be staying home indefinitely so, even if the studies are wrong, it would be nice to have as much interaction as possible.
• We'd like it to be cheap. Our plan right now is to find a nice stroller by shopping in stores or online, then look for good deals on Craigslist or eBay. That means looking for stroller models which are a few years older.
• We're also considering non-stroller options like the little baby carriers or slings you wear on the front. Apparently the slings are better for really small babies, and the midwife looked at the two of us and said "you two are probably not going to have a really big baby". :) We looked at the baby backpack things from MEC, but I don't think we're active enough to use that.

If anyone has opinions on stroller choices, feel free to comment. :) Emily has probably done the most research so far - I'm just getting started. A few of my favourites so far (most are way too expensive to buy new, but second-hand...):

• Graco Metrolite
• Chicco Cortina
• Graco Quattro Tour
• Peg Perego Pliko P3 Classico

Project Edmonton

House 4B

Emily and I are considering our future living options. We almost certainly will settle in Edmonton, Alberta, and we will probably be living in a house with Emily's mother, brother, and grandmother. That's where things get complicated...

First off, we all need to be living either within the same building, or extremely close to each other.

• The responsibility of overseeing Timothy's care will eventually be ours, and we can only do that if we are very close by. We don't want to place Timothy in an institution or a group home, as he is sufficiently high-functioning that he learns from the people he is with. In close contact with a real home environment, he can learn social skills. In a group home environment, he can learn to bite or scream.
• Emily's is a tight-knit family. While the extended family is huge, the immediate family is very small. We have always worked under the assumption that they would be living nearby, if not in the same residence. Yes, that means there will be 4 generations living under one roof.

However, we need to balance this with the need for independence:

• Emily and I would like to be able live and raise our family without necessarily involving other family.
• Emily's mother and grandmother can hopefully chase their own interests, without needing to worry about children and grandchildren all the time.
• Timothy must be living in an independent suite, else he will not qualify for funding. While we want to oversee his care, and spend time with him, the minute-by-minute caring is beyond our abilities.

That leaves us with a rather difficult housing situation. We need a house with:

• Separate space for me, Emily, and children.
• Separate space for Timothy.
• Separate space for Stella and Grandma Mak.
• Ground-floor access for Grandma.
• Three covered car parking spaces.
• Adequate (but not excessive) interior space.
• Support our family as the residents change over the next 40 years.
• Possible to lease out parts at times when there are fewer residents.
• Built on a fairly ordinary residential site, so limited in size.
• Preferably under $600k, so not too extravagant

Our current idea is a bi-level or two-story house. The bottom floor consists of two independent suites with both internal and external access. The suites can be reconfigured in a couple of ways to create larger or smaller suites. It should also be possible to access Timothy's suite from the other in case of emergency or any issues. The livable floorspace should be under 1500sqft per floor, as anything larger starts to turn into a monster.

Being the geeks that we are, we've started using "The Sims 2" to consider house designs. :) By correlating Sims objects to real-world ones, I estimate that each square is about 3 feet by 3 feet in size, so we can even get a rough estimate of square footage.

The ground floor is obviously the most complex and where we've put most of our effort. We've just finished and uploaded our best design so far in a Picasa Web Album. Take a look, and see if you can maybe design anything better. This design is about 2500-2700sqft. :)

Perceiving Depth And Other Things

I perceive the world by using my own "mental model". Everyone does this, it's nothing special, but each model is different. For example, I know that my default mental model supports object relationships (eg. the chair is on the floor), body language (eg. the person is standing defensively), implications of decisions, etc. Most of the things I need to be able to function in my daily life.

However, this mental model does not actually include physical "space" or "depth". That information is discarded. I know that the chair is behind the desk, but that is all. I would have to look at the room again to tell you how big of a gap there is between the chair and the desk.

I've noticed this in the past, but noticed it much more on our recent trip. Emily was driving and so I had ample time to experiment with a few different mental models. For example, my normal mental model allows me to estimate the time until we pass an oncoming car. I can tell that a forest is densely packed with trees or not. I can tell when we are driving too quickly around a corner because I push too hard against the seat.

But with a bit of focus, I can switch to a mental model purely in terms of space. When using that model, I can tell you the number of car lengths between us and the surrounding cars. I can estimate the ratio between tree thickness and tree spacing - much greater physical detail than I normally work with. And I will think more about the tire grip on each corner, rather than the force I feel in my chair. It's a more accurate mental model of the physical world.

I feel this is something I should experiment with in the future. At the very least, it enhances certain physical experiences (eg. I can really feel the speed and turns of a rollercoaster, instead of just noting the time it takes to complete a loop or roll).

It may even help with my memory. I tend to find that "irrelevant" details are excluded from my default mental model, and so they are never included in my memory. I can notice that someone is upset or hurt, or needs help with something... but their name seems to be irrelevant. With a bit of effort, I might be able to change my mental model to accommodate this "irrelevant" information.

Of course, no single mental model will work in all situations. The "space" mental model does not help me determine a person's mood. I can tell you the length of their forearm in comparison to their thigh, and that their arms are currently across their chest with no space in between. However, the "space" mental model does not tell me that this is a defensive posture and that the person may be upset with something...

Wedding Countdown

Emily and I are now in Edmonton to do final preparations. I have to admit, the reality of "our wedding" has just hit me, and I'm getting so excited I'm feeling sick. My stomach has felt unsettled since Thursday night when we were packing all the stuff we'll need from Vancouver. Right now, my only hope is that I can stay grounded enough to help Emily this week, and to not scream "woot!" right after the vows. :)

Sometimes I imagine what it will be like to see Emily, in her dress, coming down the aisle. But I don't think I can possible describe how I feel. The best description is probably just "YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!". I think I'll want to freeze everything right in that instance and just enjoy it forever. :D

P.S. Listen really closely to the song when she walks down the aisle. It's a secret for now, so if you know it, don't tell anyone. :P If she's not running down the aisle, the song should repeat twice so you'll have time to listen to it. We think it's absolutely perfect.

Mah Jongg

When I was growing up, my friend and I used to play with a mah-jongg set. From what I remember, Dad had bought it while travelling. We never knew how to play real Mahjongg, but we could play always Mahjongg Solitaire.

Fast forward to now. My parents went on a trip to China and bought me a small, traditional Mahjongg set. I'd never opened it, but when Emily's Poh-poh (grandmother) visited, we pulled it out and learned how to play.

Despite all the strange concepts like "breaking the wall" and "poong", Mahjongg is not that different from a regular game of cards. Here's a quick mapping from Mahjongg to cards:

The deck of 144 tiles can be split into three groups...

• There are 3 suits ("stones", "bamboo", and "characters"). Each suit runs from 1 through 9. There are 4 complete copies of each suit, giving a total of 108 regular tiles.
• There are 7 specials ("north", "south", "east", "west", "red", "green" and "white"). Again there are 4 copies of each special tile, giving a total of 28 special tiles.
• Finally, there are 8 useless tiles (these have varying depictions of flowers, a cat, a man, etc). These serve almost no purpose whatsoever, but do have some impact on your final score. If you're scoring...

Shuffling and cutting the deck...

• Take all the tiles and flip them over so their faces are down. Swirl them around on the table. Make as much noise as you can. No idea why, but it's fun. :)
• Without flipping the tiles over, start building 4 "walls". Each wall should be 2 tiles high and 18 tiles wide.
• Someone rolls a dice. The number on the dice determines where the wall will be "broken". This is just the same as cutting a deck of cards.
• Deal out tiles to each player. Each player takes a group of 4 tiles out of the breach in the wall. This is repeated 3 times, so everyone has 12 tiles. Then the person who rolled the dice takes 2 more tiles, and everyone else takes 1.

Basic play...

• The person who has 14 tiles starts the game. They throw one of their tiles into the middle, face up. Play than proceeds to the next player on their right.
• Each player's turn is basically making a choice. They can take a fresh tile from the breach in the wall (just like taking another card from the deck), or they pick up the scrap tile that was just thrown out (called chowing, or eating).
• The goal is to organise your hand into 4 groups of three, and 1 pair. A "group of three" is either a straight of matching suit, or any three identical tiles. A pair is just a pair of identical tiles.
• If you fail to achieve the goal in your turn, you must throw out a tile into the middle and play proceeds to the next player on your right.

Then it gets weird...

• Immediately after a player throws a tile into the middle, there is a brief game of 'snap' or 'poong'.
• Any player who can use that tile to form a group of three identical tiles can cry "poong!" and grab the tile. They then form their group of three, and lie them down face-up on the table to prove they weren't lying. Assuming they haven't completed their hand yet, they must then throw out a tile in the middle and play proceeds to the next player on their right.
• In some obscure cases, there can be two people calling "poong!" at the same time. If one of those players can use the tile to complete their hand, then they get that tile. If both players can use the tile to complete their hand (yes, it can happen), then it is given to the one who's turn it would have been soonest.

Strategy...

• It is fairly easy to get most of the way to the goal. Simple chowing or taking from the wall will do this. The trick is to structure your hand to maximise the chance of 'poong' at the end of the game. Most games are won with a final poong...
• Pairs are important. You can't poong to form a straight, only triples! If you have a few pairs in your hand, you just have to wait for any of those tiles to appear and you can call poong...
• Be prepared to throw out things you were working on. If you have "1 bamboo" and "2 bamboo", and most of the "3 bamboo" tiles are already discarded in the middle, you need to strongly consider getting rid of those tiles. The odds of you finding the last remaining "3 bamboo" tile is pretty small...

Anyway, that's it. :) I'll probably get abused by Mah Jongg experts, but this should explain most of it. Whenever we have visitors, I think we'll have to pull this out. :)