Video calling, long anticipated by science fiction, is filtering into everyday use. And two demographic groups not particularly known for being high-tech are among the earliest adopters.

In a way that even e-mailed photos never could, the Web cam promises to transcend both distance and the inability of toddlers to hold up their end of a phone conversation.

Even two years ago, I was challenged chatting across platforms. But I’ve used Skype and SightSpeed to good effect since, and iSight and iChat have only become more widespread.

Technology has its limits, but I’m thankful for this incarnation.

Still, the last few unexpected hours of time without the children on a Saturday afternoon has been a joy. Enough said. Among other mundane tasks, I got WordPress up to date, filled out an annoying but necessary application, and solved a problem for my wife. Not hyper productive, but satisfying.

The kids return shortly, and I’m ready for their energy again.

It’s nice to think that you can be your own person, true and accountable to no one but yourself, but I don’t think life works that way. We are what other people allow us to be.

Read the rest. Not sure I agree entirely, but there’s something I treasure in the collaboration of building a life. Selfish as I’d like to be (or am), seeing my actions reflected in the eyes of people I care about helps keep me on track.

More about the Loose Marbles in The New Yorker from May 2007.

The “Miracle Mile” was the right distance in the right location (Golden Gate Park). The crisp, clear weather (40+ degrees) meant hat and gloves for the boy — but he handed those to me just past the halfway point. He ran the entire way, only slowing once, and sprinted through the finish line…and beyond. (Little confusion about where to stop. )

This is a downhill, point-to-point mile, so the boy’s time of 7:30 was “assisted” by the landscape, but it was faster than I would have guessed beforehand.

I was glad to have an excuse not to race myself, since my back is still tender. But running alongside the boy made me a proud father.

Last month, I finished the collection of articles from newspapers and magazines and books. They helped color the facts and narrative I learned a few weeks earlier in Vietnam, A History. I read many of the early articles over a few years, but last month I kept this volume on the top of the pile and read the last half of the collection in a rush.

Early in the chronological collection, James Michener covers the Kent State killings. In a pre-CSI time, Michener dissects the many divergent reports and does his best to explain what happened as best he can. A lot of detail to fill in the story behind Neil Young’s “four dead in Ohio” — this isn’t something I’d ever known beyond the headline.

The collection ranges from brief reports to an entire book, finishing with Michael Herr’s Dispatches. What a depressing, picturesque experience he shares.

I don’t think I’ll track down the earlier volume, which covered from 1959 to 1969, but I learned much from this volume.

The hard part? Remembering to play the part of the tooth fairy. Fortunately, my better half delivered, and the magic continues.

Other than a few minutes a day on Setgame.com, finding his six sets, he doesn’t yet spend much time on the computer, or know about clock.

Let’s keep the tooth fairy our little secret a bit longer, OK?