Sam is Talking

I’d meant to blog this earlier, but Sam is now regularly greeting me with ‘Da-Da’ when I walk into the room. He’s said ‘Car’ (with a notable Boston accent, mind you) for a while, as well as ‘truck.’ But you can’t imagine how my heart melted the first time I asked him where Daddy was and he replied by pointing to me and saying ‘Da-Da.’ Priceless, I tell ya!

Sad News

My thoughts are with my dear friend Jan and her extended family this morning, as I’ve just learned that her father passed away unexpectedly on Sunday. Dr. Allan Wexler (Savannah Morning News obituary is here) was a wonderful man who raised an equally wonderful pair of daughters and fostered a wonderful home. I’ve known Jan (and her parents) since I was in kindergarten, and her father was always a smiling presence in their home. Dr. Wexler was active in all areas of his community – as a member of the B.B. Jacob synagogue, rising to the level of Lt. Colonel in the Georgia Air National Guard (165th Airlift Wing), as well as serving as a member of the board for the Savannah Association for the Blind – and let’s not forget what an avid Braves fan he was as well. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers remembrances be sent to the Georgia Optometric Foundation (donate online here or call 1.800.494.0060). Please sign the Savannah Morning News guestbook here.

Segway on the Fairway

segway at open championship

Watching the Open Championship (aka The British Open to us Yanks), I thought I spotted an unusual mode of transportation being used by one of the roving camera positions. A quick search of the wires found the image above – a television cameraman operating a steadicam rig atop a Segway was in fact following the golfers. Having chased the likes of Tiger, Norman, Els and the rest of them in the past, I know how heavy all that gear can be – seems like a perfect application of Dean Kamen’s technology. In the image above by AP Photographer Alastair Grant), you can see the driver has the rig aimed backwards at the group walking down the fairway – probably a lot easier this way than fast-walking backwards into one of those pot bunkers! I’m pretty sure this is a custom version of the XT model – while they do sell a version of the scooter adapted for the player with more money than sense that also carries their golf bag (the GT), I don’t see a camera-ready version on their site.

Photos, musings and miscellany – New and Improved!