Strange but true:

Babies who develop flat heads (plagiocephaly) may have to wear a helmet for four to six months. (Tyler's fine. You just keep coming across this stuff.)

We're raising a generation of kids who are not supposed to see the front seat of a car until age 12.

My dad says his favorite cigars right now are La Tradicion Cubana (the Robustos). I'd give you my opinion, but I'm not allowed to sample just yet.

For those likewise foresworn from smoke and alcohol, Malztrunk isn't a bad substitute (and is rumored to be helpful on the "Got Milk?" front).

One Step Ahead Baby has everything but the blastocyst.

Finally, the story of Angel Emery would be heart wrenching under any circumstances, but with all these mommy hormones having free rein in my system it's almost unbearable.

An addendum to Doc's excellent bit of free advice for the Dean campaign. I can't tell from a quick tour down the Dean blog whether anyone there has linked to the growing collection of remixes of the "I have a Scream" speech. [Via Rick Klau] They should.

A closer look at what Dr. Sears has to say reveals my situation probably is not as dire as I thought. (This feels weirdly like diagnosing a computer glitch from the manufacturer's help pages...) One thing I can't get out of my head: flour sack babies.

Happy Silver Anniversary, CBS Sunday Morning! The weblog of TV news programs.

I was up at 7 a.m. on a Sunday (is that what day it is?) with a touch of mastitis and a (perpetually) hungry little boy — two things that go together like Tabasco and toothpaste. Fit Pregnancy says "You can breastfeed, it's easier than you think." I'll endorse the first part of that sentence.

If you're one of the dozens of people whose emails are stuffing my inbox, or one of the 50 to whom I still owe thank you notes (don't ask how many we've already sent), your patience is greatly appreciated! I don't know why I thought this would get easier fast; it doesn't. My respect for all the new parents I've known in my life has belatedly quadrupled.

For those who think blog and blawg are bad: according to a CNN commentator's usage this morning, "Blackberrying" is now a verb.

I'm thrilled to report that one of my favorite colleagues, George Schiavelli, has been nominated by President Bush to serve as a United States District Judge for the Central District of California.

There's a good but sad article by Mike Cassidy in today's Mercury News, about Tyler's great grandmother's first cousin, Grace Nola, who passed away just after Christmas — "A way of life passes in valley." Her generation knew a San Jose that has all but passed into history:

In 1958, just as Robert Noyce and company were figuring out how to mass-produce the computer chip, there were nearly 3,300 acres of cherry orchards in the Santa Clara Valley.

In 2002, it was 853 acres.

Hanan Levin sent me the link to this great video clip.

In March, keep an eye out for:

• From Yale's Information Society Project, Digital Cops in Virtual Environment – CyberCrime and Digital Law Enforcement Conference. Interesting panels and keynotes, great speakers, including some darn fine blawgers. (Yale Law School, March 26-28)
• The Open Source Business Conference 2004. Tim O'Reilly, Clay Christensen, Pamela Samuelson, and more. (The Westin St. Francis, San Francisco, March 16-17)
• The ABA Tech Show. Another blawg rich environment! (Sheraton Chicago, March 25-27)

Stephan A. Ott writes Links & Law, with "the latest news on linking disputes." Stephan is credited ("Is a URL the same as a hyperlink in law?") with first reporting on whether .kids.us sites that include URLs (but not active links) run afoul of the US Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002.

Happy Birthdays and congratulations to Lucy and Marc Canter! Also, though the thought of being movie director and editor in addition Tyler's version of the Waffle House has been just too much, Mr. Willem's First Christmas, an iMovie by Larry Lessig, just made me charge the videocam batteries. As Professor Lessig notes, the Mac is amazing. Though my purchasing of late has been somewhat single minded, Mommy might need a few toys too. Like:

• The AirPort Photo Frame. If this thing weren't so horrendously priced (MacAddict says $699-$799), it'd be great for a baby's room. Works via WiFi, capable of playing slide shows, short movies and MP3s.
• Wireless keyboard and mouse.
• The mouse that roars looks cool too.
• And every iPod needs a car charger.

Can someone please explain to me how the Today Show can do a segment about weblogs (toward the end of the show, teased throughout) that focuses almost exclusively on teen diaries and parental paranoia, and fails to mention Harvard, Stanford (Stanford again), Dean, or for goodness' sake Al Roker? To her credit, writer Emily Nussbaum, whose piece in last Sunday's New York Times Magazine was the springboard for the Today story, recognizes there's more going on here than the coverage might suggest: "[E]ven diaries that seem at first predictable can have the power to startle."

You've dumped 6 full ounces of meticulously gathered breast milk onto the kitchen floor—and considered for more than a fleeting moment soaking it up with a clean sponge and squeezing it back into the bottle.

You've watched your 6 week old retrieve his wayward pacifier and reinsert it. (Cue theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey.)

Your baby gives you his first smile. And 5 more for good measure.

Need to shred a CD or floppy? Now you can. [Via Fresh Gear]

Thinking of going to ETech? Early bird registration pricing expires tomorrow Friday, and there's an extra 20% TechTV discount available with the code "et04TechTV."

Growth Spurt: 1) Something babies go through periodically. 2) A hole in the space-time continuum.

Nevertheless, I had to surface to mention how cool it is Bag and Baggage was selected the Netlawtools Site of the Year for 2003. It's in illustrious company, given the 2002, 2001, 2000, and 1999 honorees, and the wealth of great legal blogs out there. Kevin Werbach observes that "[s]ome day we may look back and identify the rise of blogs, not the Web, as the decisive development that changed our relationship to information... and to each other," and Jerry Lawson has dubbed '03 "the year of the blawg." It's continually wonderful to meet people, grow, and learn through this process.

Speaking of the Year of the Blawg, I don't see any Technorati links to this Reuters story yet — LiveWire: Web unites and divides legal profession. "Lawyers, journalists and the general public can also get news fed to them with software that scans major legal Web sites and legal online newsletters or Web logs, or blogs, for short."

Classic.

To keep Tyler croc-free, to follow Paul Boutin's 101 Ways to Save the Internet, and to congratulate Kevin Werbach (who Paul thanks in connection with the 101 Ways piece, and who also seems to have a relatively croc-free environment in mind for his Esther).