Baby Car Seat

Having trouble getting over those hump day blues? Maybe a healthy dose of thoughtful content around the web is just what the doctor ordered. Kicking off this week’s speedlink is “This West Coast Mommy” Olivia with her thoughts on when you should go from rear-facing car seats to front-facing for your toddler. Many people follow the rule of thumb of making the switch at one year of age, but that’s the minimum age and not the recommended age. Considering that it’s hard enough picking the right car seat, how do you decide when to spin around to front-facing?

Something that I’ve been told time and time again by other parents is that kids grow up far too quickly. One moment you’re changing your newborn’s diaper and the next moment you’re sending her off to college. Hop Dad had precisely one of these experiences recently when his daughter asked him where babies come from. Well, the question was of baby horses and not baby humans, but the underlying principle remains the same. His response couldn’t be more inspiring, showing just how quickly little ones can move on.

It’s amazing just how quickly technology can advance and how these advances can drive prices down. It wasn’t that long ago that you had to spend thousands of dollars to get a half-decent 3D printer. As John Biehler demonstrates, the Monoprice Maker Select isn’t half bad for a mere two hundred bucks. The 3D printer comes fully assembled, though you will need to purchase your own printing filament separately. It’s big enough to handle prints the size of a pop can and the user interface is “one of the nicest and [most] accessible” John has ever seen in a 3D printer.

When you’re used to lugging around all sorts of gear for added flexibility, restricting what you have on hand can really test your creativity. That’s exactly what Wendy D did on her recent trip to Canada’s west coast. She decided to stick with just one prime lens for her camera and nothing else, though she did whip out a second lens on their last day. Several of the photos she took are now up on the blog for your gawking pleasure.

Speaking of creativity, let’s close out this week’s speedlink session with Tript and Prabh as they share a number of meaningful quotes on creativity from creative people. You could say this is similar to my Sunday Snippet series, but with more quotes and less discussion. Perhaps the most inspiring quote comes from Maya Angelou. She said, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”