The Trixie Update

We’re feeling better. I was down for a total of two weeks. Trixie teetered on the edge the entire time but never fell over. It makes me think her flu shot might have actually worked.

Now that I can think straight again it’s back to business. First, someone asked a while back about a P.O. Box. I checked into it and I’m reporting back that we’re not doing that this year.

The cost of a P.O. Box to receive a Christmas card or two outweighs the risk of a mail bomb or stalker showing up at the door. Therefore, if you really want to send Trixie or the Trixie Update a card, here’s how to get our mailing address. Send me an email.* Write something personal in it, you know, share something, so I know that you’re not a crazy stalker. And by the way, I mean nice personal, not uncomfortable personal. I’ll email you our mailing address back.

Second, if you enjoy reading personal blogs and have a favorite you feel deserves more attention, you can nominate it for a BoB (Best of Blogs) award. We’ve been nominated, so I’m not suggesting you go plug us. But if there’s another blog you like, here’s a chance to show your appreciation.

*email us at TTU@trixieupdate.com. Important: include “Trixie Update Address” in the subject line or I probably won’t see it.

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At the suggestion of a reader a couple of weeks back (sorry, I forgot who had the good idea) I’ve added a permanent open thread to the Sleep Log. If you have a question about Trixie’s sleep telemetry or sleep related questions in general, this is the place to post it. For example, Q: Why was she up at midnight and 4:30 in the morning last night? A: I have no idea.

You can post comments to this story directly, and — once it rolls off the front page — you can use the new link in Trixie Telemetry called “Comments” which will pop open the comments for this post.

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The news service gods look favorably upon us today. The Trixie Update is mentioned in a Scripps Howard News Service baby blogging story which feeds various newspapers across the country. I’m pretty excited and would like to thank Jessica Wehrman for the interview. I know that the story appears in the Raleigh, NC News & Observer and the Fresno, CA Fresno Bee. If you saw the story somewhere else, I’d love to hear where. thanks-

Here’s a little more:

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In case anyone doesn’t know, I’ve been working on developing the Trixie Telemetry module that appears on the top of the Trixie Update home page into full-fledged Baby Tracking software. Many people have asked about the status of the project, so here’s what’s going on:

Since the public announcement May 15th, I’ve poured every free minute into designing, developing, testing and troubleshooting, but the project just… keeps… on… growing.

I’m sure a lot of people want to know why the project keeps growing. I mean, it works on the top of the Trixie Update, why can’t you just use that? The basic reason is that the back-end of the Trixie Telemetry is not pretty. To be honest, it’s an absolute mess. There’s no easy way to make changes to collected data, to manage settings, or to turn telemetry collecting on and off, etc. These issues and more all have to be addressed in a way that makes using the application as easy as visiting the Trixie Update.

I realize this explanation doesn’t really help if you already have a baby at home who won’t sleep and you’ve been waiting patiently to set up your own Trixie Telemetry. All I can say is that we’re moving this thing forward as fast as we can.

Here’s what’s happening now: Trixie Tracker is currently under review by an outside software developer. This review will be completed by Nov 15th. I’m estimating a final 4-6 week implementation period to then bring the application to beta. The current goal is to have the beta version ready January 1st, 2005.

Basically, developing software is hard. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started, and that’s why it’s taken three times as long as expected. I could have written a whole blog about the trials and tribulations of web application design, but that would have just set me further back To those parents who were counting on Trixie Tracker, you have my apologies. To look on the positive side, the completed application will be a great reason to have another kid.

[UPDATE 2/7/05] Obviously I was smoking crack when I came up with these estimates three months ago. But Trixie is in daycare now, I have a lot more time to work and it will happen soon. Thanks for sticking with us.

[UPDATE 11/28/05] Wow - a lot of time has passed. Trixie Tracker has not launched yet, but we have been in beta since May 2005. Hundreds of folks have been testing out the software (some for 6 months!) and we’ve been incorporating all their feedback to make a better application. As I’ve said before, we’ll launch soon
[UPDATE 3/8/06] Hey, how about that?! We have actually launched. Come check it out!!

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A lot of people have asked to know a little bit more about me and my design background. There are little pieces of information scattered throughout the site, but in the spirit of de-masking after Halloween here’s a consolidated version.

I went to the College of Design at North Carolina State University and graduated with a Bachelors of Environmental Design (BED). A BED is a general design degree that spans everything from painting to animation. However, the name proved so confusing to those outside the school that the department and degree were eventually changed. Current graduates are now lucky to claim title to a Bachelors of Art and Design. This is a great school. Interested in Art or Design? Be sure to check it out.

I then received a Masters in Fine Art from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SIAC). The best part about SIAC is the city of Chicago. The city itself had a greater influence on me than the school. I’m pretty lukewarm on SIAC. Plus I’m still paying off student loans from there.

We next lived in the Bronx for 4 years where I worked as a designer for a number of companies in NYC. I generally worked on print pieces and web sites. I learned to program and design websites the way most kids do, by picking apart other websites to see how they work. I still think this is the best way to get started.

Many readers have mentioned Edward Tufte in various comments throughout the site. His approach to design is attractive because it deals with presenting information in the clearest, most useful way possible. This isn’t the best approach to every design problem, but it works for us here at the Trixie Update.

I hope this is helpful for those looking for some background information. And also thank you for your comments. I’m humbled when people point to our site as an example of good design. thank you!

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As many readers correctly figured out over the weekend, we took a little trip and didn’t have regular access to the internet. What gave it away? The 25-hour nap Friday night or Trixie staying up 18 hours in a row through Sunday afternoon?

So how do we update Telemetry when on the road? If there’s not internet access, I am lucky to be able to call on an elite corps of connected individuals — the Remote Telemetry Operators (RTOs). This nationwide network is always ready to record a nap or log a diaper (as long as I can catch one of them at home.) This trip we owe thanks to Rod out in California for waking Trixie up from her endless slumber. But Schaf of New York City also deserves a shout-out. He’s been one of our top operators on previous day-trips.

We’re back at home now, and there will be more about the trip soon. Plus, I’ll get a chance to look at the comments that have come in. I haven’t been ignoring anyone on purpose.

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It doesn’t tie into any specific story. It’s more of a celebratory “We finally have a new poll up” poll. (There are also some code tweaks that should make the poll work better from this point forward.)

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A quick note regarding emails sent to me about the site or babies or whatever: I respond to every email that comes in — usually within a day, but often much quicker.

The reason I mention this is that I suspect some of the emails I send out might not be getting through because of aggressive email filtering. So remember, if you write me, make sure your spam filtering isn’t keeping emails from trixieupdate.com from getting to your inbox.

If you have already written me and think you didn’t get a response, re-send your email and I’ll re-send mine. And as always, thanks for writing!

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There’s a funny TTU mention in the Guardian. They just like us because all Trixie’s teeth are named after British Battleships.

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If you live in/near Santa Barbara, you might be able to hear a Trixie Update radio interview 6:30am tomorrow morning on the 99.9 KTYD Morning Show. I’ve never done one of these before, so I’m just hoping I don’t choke.

UPDATE [6:43]: We’re on!….
[6:52] And we’re clear!

I’d like to thank Matt, Julie, Hayseed, and Kristin for having me on their show this morning. It was a lot of fun, and I’m happy to report that there was no choking.

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