Author: Josh

Here’s a set of photos from yesterday when Mara was born.

Here’s a set of photos from today, shortly before we left the hospital for home.

Mara June
Born April 25th, 2012 (on her actual due date) at 1:06 a.m., weighing in at 7 lbs. 9.5 oz. and measured at exactly 20-inches. All the girls in the family are doing great and are excited to start on this new adventure in life!

Dear Maly,

You turned 6-years-old today. I haven’t written to you in this form in four years. I feel compelled to write to you now because for me, your birthday just seemed a little anticlimactic in the 6-year-old birthday sense. Maybe that’s because your past birthdays have always warranted a big fuss and to-do. You seemed to enjoy your birthday today, and you told me as much during our palaver tonight before you fell asleep.

Besides indulging in whatever it was that you wanted to do today, the only thing I wanted to do was take some nice photos of you this morning. I wanted a set of nice “Maly’s 6th Birthday” photos. You obliged and agreed to walk to the mailboxes with me where we could take photos of you near the new limestone wall that was recently built.

As always, you were a perfect little model. You’ve learned over the years that mom and dad are invariably always behind a camera and part of your job as our brood is to allow us to take photos of you. I probably shot over 100 frames with you as the subject this morning. I knew that there were at least 5 shots in there that were going to be perfect for your 6-year-old portrait.

I’ve learned over the years to be respectful of your time. I’ve learned that if I’m going to take your portrait, I’ll make it fast because I know you’ve got butterflies to chase and songs to sing.

Our portrait session was quick, and we were soon back at the house. You ran off to the backyard to do something, and I went to my computer to download the 100 photos and find the few that were perfect.

It was then that I learned that I didn’t put a CF card in the camera before we left for our photo shoot. Not a single photo was captured. At first I was mad at myself, and I wanted to fetch you from the backyard and take you for an immediate photo shoot do over. But I missed my only opportunity. With little persuasion, you probably would’ve done the photo shoot again, but there was nothing compelling me to persuade you.

It was at that point that I knew it was okay that we didn’t get any photos from the photo shoot. And it wasn’t really until tonight, after you’ve been long since asleep, that maybe I wasn’t supposed to capture any photos. I was supposed to watch and laugh with you as you posed with the stuffed lion monkey that your mom and I got you for your birthday. I was supposed to acknowledge you when reminded yourself that your mom had told you to keep your shoes on so you wouldn’t get your feet dirty or get a sticker stuck in one of them. I was supposed to remember our conversation about how we both love the smell of the jasmine flowers that line the sidewalk on our path to the mailbox. I was supposed to remember the butterfly that you delicately caught with your bare hands and the excitement in your eyes and smile after you’d done so. I was supposed to remember the six years to date that you and I have walked to the mailbox and have talked about everything under the sun.

And I do remember all of those things. I remember them well. Those are the fleeting moments that were meant for me, not for film or digital images.

You had a good 6th birthday. I think I’m just a bit sad because you continue to grow up, and part of me wants you to stay as my little daughter forever. And maybe it’s because I’ve realized that this will be your last birthday as my only child. You’re wise beyond your years and you don’t even know it. You continue to baffle and amaze me. Maybe it wasn’t the “perfect” birthday for you in my mind, but it was a perfect birthday to you. And to me, it was a perfect day because you were there to remind me that it was.

I love you, Sug.

Love,

Daddy

The thing on the left costs between $99-$249. The thing on the right costs $4.99 for PVC pipe, a T-joint and a Kong ball. It’s that time of year when the mirablis jalapa are blooming and I feel like longboarding. This year I’m going to be land paddling to exponentially improve my current non-existant upper body strength.

And it looks like I already have a riding partner.

This morning I received a long-awaited email from Apple indicating that my app, SlimList is now available for sale in the App Store.

Early in February I was inspired to finally build an iPhone app. I’ve had countless app ideas, but this one I knew I could do, and I felt strongly that there would be a market for it. I knew from before the word go that I wasn’t going to learn how to code the app myself. I spent three miserable years of my life in college as a computer science major and I knew I didn’t want to try to learn how to code again. I don’t like coding, I suck at it, I find absolutely no fun in it, and my brain just doesn’t work that way. I greatly admire, respect and hold in high esteem those who do code. In my career I’ve really enjoyed working with developers, and I like to think they’ve enjoyed working with me. And that’s why I leave the coding to those who enjoy it and are good at it.

Years ago Elise told me she would love a simple grocery list app. She wanted one that would allow her to type or copy & paste in her grocery list items, and then be able to check off each item as they were procured in the grocery store. It’s a really simple app idea and I’ve always liked the concept. I’ve kept this app idea in the back of my head for a couple years now. When I finally had some downtime this last summer, I created a graphical workflow for the app as I had interpreted it. Once I started on the workflow design, the project started becoming fun, and I got a bit of wind in my sail. After spending a couple days on the design, I reached out to a friend who was the sales director for a local app development shop. A week later, he came back to me and said, “iOS 5 is slated to have this exact app. If you still want to do it, it’s going to cost you $20,000.”

And that totally took the wind out of my sail. A few months later, iOS 5 came out and, if I had to guess, the app that was supposed to be just like mine was ‘Reminders.’ That wasn’t the case. I kept my workflow design filed away on my computer and it wasn’t until I recently tripped over some inspiration that I decided I was just going to have my app built anyway. Reminders isn’t the same app, and there are tons of list, to-do, grocery list and getting things done apps out there, but my gut kept telling me that mine was unique because it solved MY (wife’s) specific problem. And that is how great things are created.

Late one recent evening I opened my workflow design in Photoshop and gave it a once over. I made a couple minor changes, wrote the “story” of what problem my app is supposed to solve, and then I sought a developer to help me. Two years ago I hired a developer when I barely had enough money to pay him for the work, and today that little idea has turned into a successful and profitable little side business called Scrubbly.

I consider myself very blessed to be of the “get shit done” mentality. I love having a to-do list, but I hate having stuff on said to-do list. I get things done, and this was one of those things that I had to get into motion or the mental inventory would weigh on me. Like most, there’s a small part of me that thinks, “Oh, but what if some developer steals my idea and makes millions?!” With Scrubbly, and other ventures, I’ve learned that “what if” is a leading cause of procrastination. Someone else might think my idea is great, but that’s just it, it’s my idea and vision. I’m the one that’s passionate about it. I’m the one that’s treating it like it’s my baby and will push and fight and make it happen. The passion and the enthusiasm are the driving forces behind seeing an idea through to a product. It’s all about the execution.

So while my developer was working on the nuts and bolts of the app, I worked on the other facets of the app, like graphic design, copywriting & marketing strategy. I knew I wanted a landing page website for the app, so I built that. I spent a couple hours creating and updating the copy on the site, as well as swapping out icons, updating meta data and app screenshots. I also created a couple menu items: a “buy” button (an extra call to action never hurts) and a link to watch a demonstration video. I think a demo video is a must have for most every product. I created a simple demo video of Scrubbly, and I think it really helps in showing customers what the app actually does. I did the same thing here with SlimList.

I probably spent the most time on the logo. My first inclination was to outsource the logo design, but thought I’d give it a shot first. I kind of knew what I wanted in my head, so I figured I’d try to harness my vision and get it onto my screen. My initial design idea was a list (a vector image of a piece of paper with a list written up on it) and some kind of belt or ribbon wrapped around the middle of the list to make the list look “slim.” I also knew I wanted a checkmark on the list. I didn’t know how I would go about making the ribbon to make the list look slim, so I started playing around with general button shapes and checkmarks. It didn’t take me long to figure out how to create the square with rounded edges and the gradient, nor did it take too terribly long to create the checkmark. I was actually quite surprised with how my first iterations came out, so I just kind of stuck with what I’d come up with on my own. As I thought more about the logo and looked at the one I’d created myself, I realized that what I’d come up with was simple and to the point, so I decided to stick with it. It works.

At first my logo was going to be red. Then I simply changed it to blue in Photoshop because Elise’s favorite color is blue. Blue stuck. Blue also invokes feelings of calm, rest, peace & tranquility. Blue’s always a good bet. Plus, simple blue icons on my iPhone always seem to attract my eye. Just look at Skype, Facebook, Amazon and Google — all simple. All blue.

Because I’d spent many intimate hours with the SlimList workflow diagram last year, there wasn’t a whole lot more that my developer needed from me. He’d plug away at the code and reach me via Skype with any questions he had. We collaborated very well and ironed out any kinks together as they came up.

I had a couple last minute feature requests toward the end of the project (like the little ‘note’ icon for list items and the ability to repurpose a list stored in the ‘Logbook’), and we had to design the search functionality together as I hadn’t really thought that part through in my original design.

And then the day came when he sent me the final version of SlimList for approval. I signed off on it, we collectively indulged in a sigh of relief, and then it was time to submit the app to Apple for approval.

I’ll spare you the details in submitting an iPhone app to Apple for approval because honestly, I don’t know all the minute details of the process as I had my developer do the legwork there. I’d heard that the process can be somewhat daunting and painstaking for a first-timer, so I saved myself the headache and paid him to create the profiles and upload the binary. I created my own developer account, setup my “company”, categorized the app and handled all of the marketing aspects such as the logo, screenshots, keywords, description and pricing.

The name SlimList was kind of an accident. When I designed the app, I called it “Simple List Maker” As it came time to think about what to actually call it, I first thought of its acronym – SLM, which quickly became SLiM, and then SlimList. I really like “Slim” because I wanted it to be a “slimmed down” and simple list management app by design. There are tons of list apps out there, but most of them are bloated with so-called features that are too clunky and aren’t appealing or useful as an everyday to-do list management tool for most people.

It’s impossible to put into words how much fun I had, and how much I learned from the experience. And I can’t wait to get started on the next one!

I took Maly to school this morning. As I was dropping her off in the cafeteria, I knelt down and asked her, “hey, who’s that kid sitting right behind me?”

She peeked over my shoulder and said, “Gunnar.”

“Is he a good kid or a bad kid?”

“He’s an okay kid. One time on a field trip he tried to take a bite out of his shoe. So he’s a pretty good kid to me.”

At this point I’m laughing just because of the context of the conversation. I give my daughter a kiss and tell her I love her.

“Daddy…”

“Yeah Sug?”

“Your breath really smells bad.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, it almost made me want to throw up just now.”

Maly and I have been reading the Roald Dahl children’s book collection for the past couple months. Currently we’re reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and last night we read the chapter where Mike Teavee is shrunk by putting himself through Wonka TV. At the end of the chapter, the Oompa-Loompa sing their song about TV, and I love it. We have a TV. I’ve always wanted to shoot it.

“The most important thing we’ve learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set—
Or better still, just don’t install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we’ve been,
We’ve watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone’s place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they’re hypnotised by it,
Until they’re absolutely drunk
With all the shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don’t climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink—
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSES IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK—HE ONLY SEES!
‘All right!’ you’ll cry. ‘All right!’ you’ll say,
‘But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!’
We’ll answer this by asking you,
‘What used the darling ones to do?
‘How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?’
Have you forgotten? Don’t you know?
We’ll say it very loud and slow:
THEY…USED…TO…READ! They’d READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic takes
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching ’round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it’s Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy—Winkle and—
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How The Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There’s Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole—
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks—
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They’ll now begin to feel the need
Of having something good to read.
And once they start—oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hears. They’ll grow so keen
They’ll wonder what they’d ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.
P.S. Regarding Mike Teavee,
We very much regret that we
Shall simply have to wait and see
If we can get him back his height.
But if we can’t—it serves him right.”

Janicek.com is 10-years old today. Well, actually the oldest archived blog entry is 10-years old. I bought Janicek.com in October of 2001, shortly after Elise and I returned from our honeymoon. I created a reverse chronological website that I designed from scratch and updated manually with “journal” entries. It was a blog before I knew what a blog was. Back then it was a lot of talk of me trying to find a new job and Elise and I starting our life as a newly married couple.

A lot has happened in those 10 years. It’s fun to go back and read through the archives to see where we were and what we were doing back then.

I’m looking forward to another 10 years and then some!

[flv]http://janicek.com/video/20120209_kickmaly.flv[/flv]

“Those are Ding Dongs!”

“No, they’re not. These are Swiss Rolls. Ding Dongs are those chocolate cupcakes with cream filling and the swirly white loops on top.”

“No, those are called Hostess Cupcakes! These are Ding Dongs. Trust me. Do a Google search for ‘pictures of Ding Dongs'”

“Let’s not and say I did.”

Maly came home with a note from her school today. One of her classmate’s dad died last Thursday from a heart attack. This struck a chord with me, and I wanted to talk to Maly about this sensitive and sad subject.

“Does it make you sad that your friend’s dad died?”

“Not really.”

“…”

“Well, a little bit. I don’t know.”

“What if I died?”

“Well, mommy’s smaller and weaker than you. So I’d have to start exercising a lot and stop watching Wild Kratts.”

Twenty years ago, on this exact date, I attended, what I like to think of as my very first concert. I’m certain I’d been to concerts before this one, but this was the one where the parents dropped us off in what used to be an old Kroger grocery store on Tidwell in Houston called The Unicorn.

It was Matt, his then-girlfriend and me. I’m pretty sure this was the first time I’d smelled pot. I remember that smell wafting from the dark corners of the warehouse and how interesting I thought it was. Once someone answered my inquiry with a, “dude, that’s pot,” I forever associated that smell with the fact that I knew it was illegal, instead of being that perpetual interesting smell.

Fifteen years old and Eddie Vedder takes the stage with Pearl Jam. They’d just released their first album, “Ten” and I think the only person who knew of Pearl Jam was the guy behind us who screamed, “Let’s jam, Pearl Jam!!” And that they did. Eddie Vedder owned the stage and the band created the loud, raw, distorted and flowing ambiance that was every bit of what “grunge music” became in the 90’s.

I was mesmerized. The music was hard, heavy and aggressive enough to warrant moshing and jumping about by most of the packed in crowd. At the same time, the music and vocals also promoted a sensual and calming rhythm that captivated and created an ocean-like flowing of those in attendance.

It was like the entire local ecosystem had congealed together in a vacuum bubble of aural and visual meld.

I was probably high from second had pot smoke.

At one point Eddie Vedder jumped off the stage and into the crowd. My first thought was, “holy shit! What the hell did he just do?!” And then he bobbed up from within the crowd and started slowly drifting across the crowd on a sea of hands. He rolled over onto his stomach by the strength of the audience and pointed to the sound and light booth. And the ocean crowd obligingly carried him to his destination.

We were standing mid-stage, probably 20 people back and I watched Eddie being carried straight toward us with the stage and the band blurred in the background. Within only a few seconds, he was on top of us. I put my hands up and he latched on to one of my hands as he was slowly carried away in his drift. A he passed over, I thought, “man, that’s influence. That’s a rock star. He just rode above the entire audience on a sea of hands.” I had no clue who Eddie Vedder or Pearl Jam was prior to that show, but I was a pretty devout fan a few years after that show.

Pearl Jam’s set ended and within a half hour, a really ugly, emaciated woman with a bushy red mop on her head took the stage and she and her band whined and screamed to some pretty heavy (heavier than Pearl Jam) tunes. I quickly learned that the ugly woman was Billy Corgan and his band, the Smashing Pumpkins. Whatever the first song was, I didn’t really like it. It wasn’t until their second song, and throughout the rest of the set that I acquired a sense of this new groove. The Smashing Pumpkins provided a heavier sound, but still maintained a rhythmic and flowing cadence.

It was somewhere in the Smashing Pumpkin’s set that I came down with the flu. It hit me like a brick. Thankfully I didn’t get sick sick, but i could feel my energy drop, my throat started hurting and my head felt like it was going to implode. It wasn’t secondhand pot I’d been subjected to for the previous hour, it was the full-on flu. I think I even missed the following week of school.

I had just enough energy for the headliners: The Red Hot Chili Peppers. I don’t remember too much of their show as I was really feeling under the weather, but I do remember they were on tour promoting their Blood Sugar Sex Magik album. Of course the crowd really went nuts when RHCP took the stage, so not only was I coming down with the flu, I was also having to make sure I didn’t get caught in a mosh pit and kicked in the head.

I’ll probably always remember that concert quite vividly. To this day, I’m very much a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan. If I hear a Pearl Jam song today, I usually hit next on the iPod or change the radio station. That probably holds true for Smashing Pumpkins, too.

I’m baffled and amazed that it was 20 years ago that I saw Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins and the Red Hot Chili Peppers in an old grocery store in Houston.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go chase some kids off my lawn.