Transport Monitor error

Error Message: Application Launch Failure

The application "Transport Monitor" could not be launched because of a shared library error: "<__ct__16ctransportrelmacfp18opaquetransportrefuc>"

(OK)

In addition to that error window, I had these errors in Console.app: [0x0-0x46046].com.palm.HotSync.TransportMonitor[732] /Applications/Palm/Transport Monitor/Contents/MacOSClassic/Transport Monitor[732] Launch failed with error code -2807 (cfragUnresolvedErr) for application /System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Support/LaunchCFMApp

com.apple.launchd[223] ([0x0-0x46046].com.palm.HotSync.TransportMonitor[732]) Exited with exit code: 9

Solution: from MacFixIt,

Error: Transport Monitor could not be launched; fix

Some users have reported receiving the message "Transport Monitor" could not be launched because of a shared library error" when starting up Mac OS X or performing other operations.

This error message indicates a problem with one of the components included with the Palm Desktop software, and you may need to re-install the software.

First, uninstall Palm Desktop via these instructions.

Next, re-install Palm Desktop, which is available as a standalone download.

If you have recently performed an Archive and Install and are experiencing this problem afterward, the HotSync libraries (part of the Palm Desktop package) may be located in at /Previous Systems/Previous System(1)/Library/CFMSupport/HotSync Libraries.

You can move these files to the /Library/CFMSupport/ directory in order to obviate a re-install.

I'm pretty sure this is a conduit conflict from having both Palm Desktop and Missing Sync installed, so you could just remove all non-Apple conduits and re-install the one you want to use.

So I'm headed to un-install, then side-step to Missing Sync (they sent me an upgrade coupon, so I'll bite). (I don't like that they have a spotty reputation for customer service, I think Missing Sync is a bit over-priced, and I think it has bad software design from that one time right after I bought Missing Sync it wasn't giving me the underlying error message that I saw when I reverted back to Palm Desktop. I recognized the error right away, fixed it, and went back to Missing Sync with mistrust. Error messages, even cryptic numbers, beat no error message with no sync.)

Since I upgraded Missing Sync, I'm happy with sync again. So I didn't test this tip out, but removing conduits from the "active" location and re-installing really should have fixed it too.

Baby Banana Pancakes

I had a bottle of breast milk reaching the end of its shelf life, and I wanted to make something for Cale. Since I also had two baby bananas (the baby variety, not the standard Cavendish) getting black, I decided to make banana pancakes. I started with a recipe from Food For Little Fingers by Victoria Jenest (it's a nice cookbook for ideas, but I recommend not feeding liver to children due to accumulated toxins) but I had to modify the recipe for Cale's egg allergy.

1 Tbs flax seed meal 2 Tbs water	heat in microwave 1:15, beat together (should be gelatinous since this is the egg sub)
2 baby bananas	mash into "egg"
1/3 cup breast milk 1 tsp canola oil	I added another 2 Tbs of milk to thin the batter; mix
1/2 King Arthur white wheat flour 1/2 tsp Bakewell Cream baking powder	sift in, barely mix by hand

I mixed the wet ingredients with the drink attachment for my immersion blender, which made everything very smooth and aerated fluffy. Once you add baking powder (or baking soda), put away the mechanical mixers and do it by hand so you don't lose the leavening action. I don't know if I needed extra milk because I like thinner pancake batter, or because the air is so impossibly dry right now, or because the protein content of the whole wheat flour I used was higher than that in the test recipe. Or maybe the egg substitution needed more water? The recipe called for 1/3 cup, and I used more.

I made one batch of 8 2-inch pancakes. Based on Karston's interest, I made another batch as Mickey pancakes. Cale ate one pancake and started on a second, while Karston ate one pancake and one Mickey. For no-sugar pancakes with no eggs and with whole wheat flour, these were surprisingly light, fluffy, and tasty.

Cheese & Oats

I've spent years reducing the fat in my diet, yet I've knowingly turned a blind eye to cheese. I love cheese, and the only reduced-fat cheese I liked was the Cabot line (not that I tried many, since I left cheese in a favored blind spot). To my surprise, giving up cheese for Cale was EASY! I did it right away.

However, I admit I was pretty happy, especially after a hideous soy cheese attempt (had to throw the whole expensive chunk away even before we knew Cale was allergic to soy because it reeked too badly to eat), to find a cheese substitute that doesn't taste like it should be used as punishment. The answer is vegan-rella tastes somewhat like cheese, and does just fine for melting and flavor on a homemade pizza. And it's rice-based, so it's allergy-friendly.

When I discovered that Cale was very allergic to me eating dairy, milk products were out of my diet in a snap. He was uncomfortable after I had several veggie burgers (lunch and dinner, not all at once) in one day, so soy went out. Uncomfortable after I had a big tasty omelet for dinner, so eggs went out. The organic baby food with barley flour didn't sit well with him, so barley went out. I've been pretty ruthless so far for removing suspect foods. Even beans. If I have a small serving of beans, we're OK, but making a meal of beans doesn't work for Cale so I don't do it anymore.

Which leads me around to oats. Cale was uncomfortable after he had baby food with oat flour last week, and I caught myself rationalizing, saying that it must be the cold that he caught. It could be, but that doesn't mean I'm not also being softer on oats than I was on other food stuffs. With all of the items I've removed from my diet, I have become aware that I really enjoy oats, especially in cookies. A handful of oats in bread gives it an enjoyable chewiness. I like oats. I thought my blind spot was cheese, but it might actually be cheese. Once Cale is well, he's going to have to take another oats challenge. I don't want to drop oats from my diet after having dropped so much else!

The Little Things

While I'm sitting here with a sick baby on my lap, I'm reflecting on the little things. Cale is so sad right now, he's whimpering, but his face lights up with a smile when I can get him to make eye contact with me. Such a lovey child! My over-shirt is pretty damp, between his snot and his sucking on my buttons. I remember when his big brother went through a button-sucking phase around this age. But there are also the little things that I forgot so quickly. I forgot that while the baby is in "the bucket" (the infant car seat that can be removed from its base), I have callouses at the base of my fingers from hauling around all that weight. When I need to balance the bucket, maybe to scoop up big brother, I rest it on the back on my legs where I now have big bruises. The callouses, bruises, and memories thereof fade quickly once the bucket stage is over around 9 months of age. I remember 9 months was a big transition. The bucket retired, but it was also (thankfully!) the end of needing a whole new wardrobe every 3 months. Oh, and toys are now de rigueur instead of what's this? With all the personality, it's a pretty fun phase!

Graham Flour

I bought some graham flour, and felt a little ripped off when the ingredient list was: 100% Whole Grain Whole Wheat Flour. Great!, I thought, I just bought expensive whole wheat flour. However, now I know what it means.

Although the terms graham flour and whole wheat flour are often used interchangeably, there is a difference. Graham flour is a slightly coarser grind than whole wheat flour.

The Salmon of Doubt About Tea

I read (and enjoyed) The Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams, and one part that stuck with me was the short passage in the introduction where he wondered why Americans are so impatient that we dunk our tea bags vigorously. Because, well, I dunk my tea bag when I have tea so that I can enjoy the flavor at the temperature I prefer. So here's my retort, a study reported in Reader's Digest:

Continuously dunking the tea bag as the tea steeps seems to release far more antioxidant compounds than simply dropping it in and leaving it there.

I dunk my tea bag because I like the flavor, my health, and the antioxidants.

Mostly just "whatever" but with a side of "there is a reason" too.

Calorie (In)equality

I used to believe the old saw that the only thing that matters for weight issues is to watch calories in (food) and calories out (exercise). Up to a point, that's even true. This is The Physics Diet, and it works if you're strict. I'll cut to the end game: clearly the source of the calories matters, at least in some cases. Don't believe me? Diabetes. Check mate in one word!

To work on the "calories in" side, I developed all sorts of low-fat cooking techniques years ago. I'm pretty good at it now. The reason why I learned low-fat is that you get 9 calories from a gram of fat, while just 4 calories from a gram of protein or a gram of carbohydrate. Obviously knocking out fat is a bigger calorie drop than protein or carbs. [The building blocks of protein are amino acids; the building blocks of carbohydrates are sugars.]

Too bad I'm sensitive to refined sugar! Not that it's bad to be a low-fat cook, but it's not all I need to watch. What I've learned from observing myself is that eating refined sugar (certain types more so than others; haven't figured out what those have in common yet though) triggers munchies. I'm sure I'm still hungry. I mean, I feel quite hungry. I can tell it's a hungry feeling, and not boredom or any of those other wrong reasons to eat. Luckily, I've learned the "reset" button for the refined sugar munchies, and that's to fight back with unrefined sugar. The sweetness of fruit is appealing, and it (generally) turns off my desire to eat more. Apples are great! So it's not that the calories in sugar are bad, but my reaction to them (wanting to eat more) is. Complex carbohydrates are good (especially the ones high in fiber), but refined carbs and especially refined sugars are not good for how I respond to them.

I've still got more to learn here, but I'll start by acknowledging that not all calories are equal; some calorie sources have undesirable consequences.

Sleep Issues

Cale was sleeping so well (most of the time, and in comparison to the past two months and especially the past week) from birth until six months of age that the decline to worse and worse sleeping patterns has been distressing. So, back to the research! First, how much sleep does he need? Of course there's a wide range for individual variation, but at 9 months, the healthy average is 11 hours at night, and 3 hours in two daytime naps. Wow. Nowhere close. We slid from 2 hours on his own down to 10 minutes, and sleeping together wasn't restful for either of us. A 1991 reference and a newer 2007 reference both say falling asleep with a parent is linked to night waking. Falling asleep with a parent is the main behavior (to change) mentioned in a review of the first article. Since Cale's been falling sound asleep while nursing, I figured that was the problem. He used to get so drowsy while nursing, and I would put him in his crib awake-but-not-for-long. Argh! [Here I'm thinking it's my fault for allowing him to slip into poor sleep hygiene.]

Then I looked back at my own post on sleeping at 9 months, and discovered that night sleeping peaks at six months, and drops at nine months (and doesn't get much better by one year). So I was discouraged, not sure there was any cure other than time! [Now I'm thinking it can't even be fixed.]

Two nights ago, Cale woke up when I put him in his crib, and he wouldn't let me set him down. I'd spent so much time trying to get him down that I told him he was just going to have to hang out with me doing Mommy things until I was ready to go to bed with him. He fell asleep on my shoulder within half an hour while I was on my computer. I put him in his crib, and he slept there for almost 5 hours!!! I slept on my own for most of that time, and it was fabulous! I was perfectly happy to let him nurse and cuddle until morning after that treat. Last night I wanted to send out one email before his bedtime routine, and once again Cale fell asleep on my shoulder. He slept 7 hours in his crib last night! On top of that, when I was ready to go to bed last night, I heard Cale shaking the rails of his crib, but not calling out for me. He does know how to put himself back to sleep! It was music to my ears to hear him awake but not needing me.

My first theory was that the improvement was putting him to sleep with boredom, instead of nursing him to sleep. You know what they say about nursing babies to sleep: Baby falls asleep in his favorite place (Mommy's lap) doing his favorite activity (nursing); when Baby wakes up, he's alone in the dark so no wonder he cries! With a normal healthy baby, I'd try bedtime variations that require less parental intervention, like going from nursing to sleep to falling asleep from boredom. I think it's a reasonable step toward independent falling asleep. But I don't think (anymore) that that applies to Cale yet.

But then something clicked for me! Now that I've had some sleep, I can sometimes think again! (It's so nice; you should try it! Sleep is good stuff.) When is breast feeding ever wrong? Clearly though, Cale sleeps better when he doesn't breast feed before bed. We all know breast milk is the best food in the world for babies, by a huge margin. Since breast milk speeds through his system faster, maybe he gets hungry sooner? No, I've actually tested not letting him nurse when I pick him up to start a tiresome full-contact baby-cuddling night, and he's fine either way. He'll nurse if I offer, but if I don't offer then he's fine waiting until 5 or 6 in the morning when he actually is hungry. So it's not hunger. In retrospect, I can't believe I didn't see this sooner, but there's only one reason why my breast milk causes any problem for Cale. His allergies. His allergy to milk is major, as evidenced by his pooping response. (His barley allergy showed up as a primary reaction, meaning he ate baby food with barley and was out-of-sorts afterwards; it hasn't been tested through me.) His allergy to soy and eggs is minor, and was only detected by Cale sleeping poorly when I had two Boca burgers for dinner and when I had an omelette for dinner. Thunderclap! Minor food allergies to what I eat show up as a sleeping problem! Cale's absolutely terrible sleeping patterns lately have nothing to do with sleep declines at nine months, nothing to do with falling asleep with a parent, and everything to do with his allergies. Good sleep hygiene is good, but Cale's problem is allergies.

I need to try a complete elimination diet. Or, conversely, only eat food stuffs that are in his baby food. There's something here, and if I can get some sleep, I might be able to figure it out!

Hormones and Food

I read an interesting article in the January 2009 issue of Fitness magazine called Outsmart Your Fat Hormones.

hormone:	trigger:	balance it with:	my comments:
cortisol	stress	exercise, yoga, meditation
ghrelin	lack of protein	eat protein
ghrelin & leptin	lack of sleep	sleep! or at least munch on fruits & veggies instead
leptin	HFCS, refined sugar	avoid high-sugar	I "reset" with fruit (unrefined sugar)
progesterone	PMS	maintain consistency (good habits) in last 14 days of cycle	low progesterone in babies may be linked to colic
pyy & glp-1	4 hours after a meal	frequent small meals, or protein&carb snacks between meals

So when I'm in a baby-sleepless haze, be careful on what foods I go munchy, especially the ones with refined sugar. Well, duh! Useful to know that the best snacks have protein and complex carbs, though.

The Dishwasher

So our dishwasher gave out yesterday, as did its first patch. We'll be looking for an efficient dishwasher.

I asked for advice at Will's family gathering last night, and his grandma Jenni said to get a German stainless steel model, like Bosch or Miele.

Online this morning, I learned that I want an air dry option (or Bosch's condensation drying) for energy efficiency.

In the store this afternoon, we learned a subtle trick (the hard way): bring some dishes. The main difference between two Bosch models was the rack spacing. If we had had two plates, two cereal bowls, and two salad bowls, we could have decided if that were a difference worth paying (a lot) more.

My Uncle's The Drummer

We went to visit friends tonight while they were in town. Wouldn't you know, Cale has a diaper leak shortly after we get there. It's not too bad since Jeni's boys are about the same age as my boys, meaning still in diapers. However, I didn't pack the "on a trip" diaper bag, just the "quick errand" one, so I didn't have a change of clothes. (I should really know to pack a change of clothes. Last year a new mom in our neighborhood was headed out for one of her first excursions, and she asked me if she had everything after she rattled off a long list of what she had packed. I said change of clothes, and guess what? Margo had a diaper leak! So maybe I should take my own advice.) Anyway, Jeni showed me a selection of clothes that could be Cale's. Then she mentioned that one tee shirt was special, did I have any ideas. Jeni's brother is a drummer; the tee shirt says My Uncle's The Drummer. Suddenly the light went on: Daddy's brother-in-law is also a drummer! Woo hoo! So I gave the special tee shirt a good home, and now I need to take a good picture of it to share with Jeni.

Installing iWork'08 on new Mac

So I got a new MacBook Pro, and it's taking me forever to migrate over to it. One of my steps was to install iWork'08; I got it on sale on campus this summer. So here I've got a new retail CD and a new laptop ... that won't install it!!! I couldn't believe it, but I asked Google and learned about the iWork '08 trial trick. Thank goodness for broadband at home! I used the trial installer that I downloaded, and the retail key, and it worked (last week). I just want to write down the trick before I forget it!