Fidget Spinner

A couple of weeks ago I read about the sudden craze of fidget spinners. Last week, I saw one of the new interns in office playing with one. And then my nephew Ryan playing with one. And it seemed that wherever I went someone or the other was playing with one.

And naturally I borrowed theirs and ended up playing with it. And liking, well actually loving it. Next step, Buy 1. Which quickly translated to buying 10. Which I will now have to perforce present to people I know.

One would think that this wonderful product designed so well, had all the markings of success. And so it succeeded. But you would be wrong.

The fidget spinner as the name mis-suggests was designed as a tool not for fidgeting but to prevent fidgeting. It seemed like persons with ADHD tend to be unable to focus and so their hands are constantly in motion searching for something to do.

The origin is unclear and initially Catherine Hettinger was credited with being the inventor. She filed a patent for a spinning toy in 1993.

"... she told The Guardian that the origins of the fidget spinner came when she was suffering from myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disorder that causes muscle weakness.Unable to play with her daughter, she started "throwing things together with newspaper and tape" in an effort to entertain her. It soon gained moderate popularity as she began small-scale manufacturing from her home and sold her invention around art fairs in Florida."

"... A Bloomberg News article, however, disputes the claim that Hettinger is the original inventor of the fidget spinner, citing two patent lawyers who saw little resemblance between the fidget spinners which rose to popularity in 2017 and Hettinger's spinning toy, as described in the patent. Hettinger acknowledges there is no direct connection between her own spinning toy and fidget spinners in their current form and does not make any claims on being the inventor of the product, telling Bloomberg News: "Let's just say I'm claimed to be the inventor. You know, 'Wikipedia claims', or something like that.

Although the patent status of the various fidget spinners currently on the market is unclear, in an interview appearing on May 4, 2017 on NPR, Scott McCoskery describes how he invented a metal spinning device in 2014 to cope with his own fidgeting in IT meetings and conference calls. In response to requests from an online community, he began selling the device he called the Torqbar online. Shortly thereafter, others began making and selling their own versions, and in 2016 he partnered with a friend to file for a provisional patent."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidget_spinner


The fidget spinner in its modern avatar, seems to have started its popularity journey in the beginning of 2017. There was an article published in Forbes on Dec. 23, 2016 by James Plafke describing fidget spinners as the "must-have office toy for 2017". So itremains a question whether the article started the process or just saw it coming.

And quickly like all good things there were several designer fidget spinners also available.

And again like all good things the price range varied big-time but whether the quality did remains an open question.

And for those of you who are wondering at what the hell is a fidget spinner, here's a short video on the subject.

How do fidget spinners work?
GorillaPhysics

Its popularity reached a level that CNN had an article, "All your questions about fidget spinners, answered".
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/05/health/fidget-spinners-what-is-trnd/index.html

Available since 1993. Goes viral in 2017. Yet another example of the way the world works. For anything to succeed the universe needs to be ready, the stars lined up and everything else in the right place at the right time. And then it will happen.

And for all those with a great idea that's going nowhere, this offers some insight. All you can do is to try and be there at the right places and hope that the right time will come. Hopefully sooner than later.

Happy Father's Day to Me. And to all the Fathers.

Today is universally celebrated as Father's Day. Which translated means that the US or rather US companies such as Hallmark decided to call it Father's Day so that they could sell a zillion cards. A couple of decades later, no one buys or sends cards, but the tradition continues and the Amazons of the world benefit.

Or so I thought. Until I looked it up and like all other things, there's an interesting story behind the origin of Father's day. Which as it turns out was inspired by Mother's Day.

"The nation’s first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in the state of Washington. However, it was not until 1972–58 years after President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day official–that the day honoring fathers became a nationwide holiday in the United States."

"... a Spokane, Washington, woman named Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children raised by a widower, tried to establish an official equivalent to Mother’s Day for male parents. She went to local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials to drum up support for her idea, and she was successful: Washington State celebrated the nation’s first statewide Father’s Day on June 19, 1910.

Slowly, the holiday spread. In 1916, President Wilson honored the day by using telegraph signals to unfurl a flag in Spokane when he pressed a button in Washington, D.C. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge urged state governments to observe Father’s Day.

Today, the day honoring fathers is celebrated in the United States on the third Sunday of June."
http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/fathers-day

Reia, my younger daughter after spending a few years in the US has perfected the art of re-messaging and so sends me a variation of this message every year. And it never fails to bring a smile, especially since its largely untrue, yet feels good. Who of us does not like to be praised.

Freia is a little like me. Not great at saying the right things. And so she tweeted asking for help with choosing the right thing to say. As printed on a mug. And managed not to get any of the brilliant mugs, all of which came pretty close to the truth, I think. Or to say any of them. Instead she treated me to a glass of healthy juice. Which didn't seem very appetizing because of the green color, which I relate to healthy and therefore untasty, if that's a word. And after that low expectation it turned to be pretty tasty.

The message I liked most was a tweet by ex-President Obama. Especially since it expresses my feelings. Perfectly. Just replace Sasha and Malia with Reia and Freia.

So to all of you father's here's to a Happy Father's Day, the one day of the year when you are appreciated for all you do. And to everybody else, we father's would really appreciate appreciation on a few other days too. How about once a month? :-)

It's more than a game... It's Baseball!

On Friday my cousin Vanitha invited Freia and me to a baseball game at Yankee's stadium. Yes, the iconic stadium that I had not seen in the last 100 years but had made my first visit last month for Freia's graduation. Only this time it was for watching the Yankees take on the Baltimore Orioles.

I had seen a little bit of Baseball on TV and had heard friends and colleagues discuss it. But had never really seen a game at a Ball Park. Yes! That's what a baseball field is called and I assume that's where the term "Ballpark it" comes from.

The buildup was huge. Vanitha told us that she had managed to get Box seats, and it included free food and drinks and ... I was excited. Vanitha, her son Ryan, Freia and I got there just before the start of the game at 7.30. We had great seats. Just 30 rows from the field and just behind the visitors area. They weren't exactly box seats, but who cares, they were Free.

And before the game, we decided to go get some of that awesome, amazing, free food. We got into the MVP Club that we had access to and realized that the free part was only popcorn and peanuts and sodas. Everything else including the hot dogs were paid for. I guess you can't go to a baseball game and not get hot dogs. So we got hot dogs.

And settled down to watch an exciting game. As Freia said, "It seems a little slow, unlike cricket where the runs keep piling up". Here at the end of the 1sts innings the score was 0-0. Luckily that quickly changed and by the end of the game the Yankees won 8-2.

I didn't know about baseball and felt that I should at least understand the game. Okay, a little bit. And on my ride to the stadium I quizzed my brother Frank about the game. He answered my questions and I learnt a little bit. For those who don't have knowledgeable siblings or friends who are willing to teach you about baseball, there's always YouTube. And here's my favorite. Probably because the author is like me, someone who comes from a cricket playing country.

It's more than a game... It's Baseball!

And for those like Freia who want to not spend more than a few minutes, here's Aja.

Ask Aja: Baseball 101

The Art of Parenting

As parents, we always think we are doing the right thing. And sometimes we get a rude shock. And I got a shock. Well okay, a jolt.

I was told by by daughter "NO. You actually aren't as nice as you think you are". And then her sister and Mon seconded and thirded it.

This was difficult to absorb. And then I got a second jolt. When I saw this Ted talk. When it happens twice in the same week, you can't help but wonder. Check out this talk and decide for yourself whether or not you are over-parenting. And for kids reading this, don't miss the part about, "The earlier and more chores you do, the more successful you are."

How to raise successful kids -- without over-parenting
Julie Lythcott-Haims