I drove a car the other day for the first time in oh, about 13 years, returning our Autoshare car to its parking spot a few subway stops west of us.

I didn’t enjoy it. The car was a Suzuki Aerio, which felt enormous and tank-like. It was an automatic, which I didn’t like — the feeling of just putting my foot down and having the thing move, ack! Not that I ever got any good at driving a stick, but it’s less freaky. Visibility out the back of the thing was kind of bad, too. Fortunately it was dark and rainy — since I learned to drive in Vancouver, I’m most comfortable driving in the dark and the rain. Still, compared to my bike where I can see and hear 360 degrees, my situational awareness was significantly constrained.

I think I’d prefer the Toyotas in the Autoshare fleet. They’re smaller and shaped to be more open, especially the Echos. And maybe the Smartcars, since they’re small and can be driven in either automatic or manual mode.

Anyway, I didn’t hit anything.

Here’s a low-quality scan (in the real one I don’t have white fluff on my shirt) the photo we’re giving people as a Christmas present. Maddy was reluctant to share her private photo session with us, but after the photographer shamelessly bribed her with gummy bears we managed a few decent shots.

Zoe Victoria W., born December 17.

sniff Lookit all the gorgeous hair, and her perfect little lips! Ah, babies….

Clive Thompson blogs that someone’s worked out “a formula describing the precise interaction of booze, lighting, and distance that produces this dread syndrome”.

I’ve been dying to talk about the quilt my Mom and I were making for my sister’s soon-to-arrive baby, and since it has reached its destination I can finally speak up. Here it is!

I embroidered the 16 squares, most of them with a bee motif and a few with stars. Mom sewed it all together. We had such fun making it — Mom and I both think the other had the bee idea and picked out the fabrics, but whatever, it turned out very nicely.

I discovered embroidery is the perfect thing for conference calls at work since it occupies my eyes and hands but not my brain. Otherwise I end up staring at the wall and zoning out, or doing my email and losing track of the call or something equally useless. I’ll have to find some small embroidery projects to keep in my office for future calls, since this one is all done!

I hope the baby likes it as much as Maddy likes the quilt Mom and my sister made for her when she was born. She still insists on having it tucked around her every night.

Heady stuff: Manitoba researchers study why beer foams