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AttentionGrab back today!

 In the name of the father, and of the son, and of the daughter

What a wonderful fall it has been, truly a dream come true.  I’ve been dying to come back and write about all my news.  I’ve got a lot to talk about.

Arianna and Ethan are doing well - they are a very loud bunch.  They’ve brought joy to my life I never knew I could have.

Thus, I have a different perspective on everything - different than the perspective I had yesterday.

And I have learned this:  Blogging, managing my online identity, and connecting to more and more people is something that I love to do.  This is my passion:  Using technology to bring people together in ways they never knew were possible  (in addition to the passion I have for my family).

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Pause

I’ll not be posting anything in the near future…busy with a project and the babies.  Try back in January ‘07.

In the mean time, visit the Parker Family blog where I will be posting pictures every couple of weeks.

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Twins Born!

Please welcome to the world Ethan James and Arianna Arshia Parker.  Visit our family blog:  Parker Family

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When VR is AR: Family Style

(or when virtual reality becomes actual reality)

I had a conversation with a close body a couple of weeks ago about how Virtual Reality (VR) will enhance the family experience.  His argument was “Why would anybody want to spend any time in an area that just wasn’t real?  I’d rather have real life than a made up fantasy land.”  Which is a very well made point. 

Yet, I believe otherwise.  I asked:  “When you go see a movie in the movie theatre, how much of that 2 hours do you actually spend communicating with your family?”.  Continuing with, “Most families I see at the movie theatre are very quietly, politely sitting in submission to the big screen.”   “Is that what you call real?”, I asked.

Instead, my vision of what’s really real is when a family meets in VR on a Friday night from 6pm until 8pm every week. 

The Son, living in New York, the sister in Chicago, the parents in St. Louis, and everyone comes together for some family activity once a week.  Exploring the Taj Mahal this week, Grand Canyon next week, the Florida Keys the week after that - all virtually, but all together.  Making ripples back and forth on the pools of the Taj Mahal, standing at the edge of The Canyon, wind blowing everyone’s hair as we watch a beautiful sunset, or taking a couple of jet skis weaving in and out of dangerous coral areas…But never life threateningly dangerous…and all of this I share real-time with my family. 

What could possibly be more real than that?

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Two are better than One

Uma, my wife, is almost 28 weeks with twins.  We’ve got at least 7-8 more weeks to go.  (we are shooting for July 15th - but of course, the actual date is yet to be determined - full term is August 12th.)  It’s fun watching her tummy change shapes as the babies move around inside her.  Those kids are always dancing around.

…which is already affecting our household.  Things are changing fast.  We are preparing every nook and cranny of our humble home for the babies.  It’s a huge effort.  But boy is it invigorating.

Uma, my East Indian Princess (see wedding pics at http://www.jimuma.com), is like an Angel in dealing with all of these changes to her body.  She is a very resilient woman.  She perfectly maintains a regular amount of laughter and smiles.

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Other Posts By Jim

Two are better than One

Uma, my wife, is almost 28 weeks with twins.  We’ve got at least 7-8 more weeks to go.  (we are shooting for July 15th - but of course, the actual date is yet to be determined - full term is August 12th.)  It’s fun watching her tummy change shapes as the babies move around inside […]

Future Ubiquities

As a little girl, my grandmother rode a horse drawn wagon to the church on Sunday’s in the early 1920’s.  Today, at 94, she has a machine that keeps her heart beating reliably and is about to fly via jetliner across the country in a matter of hours to visit children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
That’s a […]

US Senators, a Vice President, a Camera Man, and a Cop

Former US Senator from Missouri Tom Eagleton passed away March 4th.
I was raised a Democrat so when I was a kid, in 1980, when my mother was working for his campaign, I met him. I vaguely remember the fund raising event.
Over the years, through my mother’s connections (and some of my own) I’ve gotten […]

Flavor of the week

Is Microsoft coming back?  No.
Is Google the next Microsoft (Microsoft which eventually doesn’t come back)?  Yes.
Will Google be anywhere around $500/share in 5 years?  No.
Is Apple the next Google which is the next Microsoft which eventually doesn’t come back?  Yes.
Do I still wanna be the next Apple?  Yes.

Home Stretch

Uma and I are in the home stretch.  Our twins are coming somewhere around the first two weeks of July.  Thus, my “contribution” to the blogosphere will continue to be sporadic at best.
Nevertheless, there are all sorts of things going on these days.  And there are so many things I yet want to do!  I’ve […]

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Attention Grab is an exploration of media, technology, and humanity by Jim Parker

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