(More than) Fourinarow.net

I spent some time in the Apple Store this week, waiting to see a “genius” so I could get a new battery for my laptop.  While I waited, I entertained myself by playing with the new iPad.  As I flipped through the loaded apps, one in particular caught my eye:  Pocket Universe.

As I played with it, I immediately thought of Jack, who loves all things space.  If it has to do with the planets, outer space, black holes, you name it – he’s all about it.  He may just be getting a telescope for his birthday this year.

Anyhow, I downloaded the app to my phone while still in the Apple Store, then promptly forgot about it until this afternoon.  While Jack was busy with other things, I synced Dan’s iPad so it, too, would have the new app.  Excited, I showed it to Jack.  Immediately, he was into it, figuring out things it could do and discovering what it could tell him about the things out in space.

One of the coolest features (I think) is that you can hold your device up, aiming in any direction, and it will show you where everything is from where you’re standing – planets, constellations, messier objects (look that one up – I had to), etc. So, after dinner, leaving the baby crawling around in the kitchen, Jack, Luke and I took the iPad outside to the deck for a few minutes to play with it.  Very cool.

A little test was enough for me, so I turned to go back inside.  But, when I tried the sliding glass door, it wouldn’t budge.  I knew Maria was glued to the TV downstairs and Sam was in the shower, so they were quickly dismissed as suspects.  I cupped my hands around my eyes and peered through the glass, into the kitchen, and saw Andrew staring back at me.

He is definitely not tall enough to turn the lock on the door.  But, he is the perfect height to flip up the bottom Burgle Bar, which prevents the door from opening.

Awesome.

Tapping on the glass and trying to get him to push it back down only resulted in fits of laughter from Luke and Jack.  So, we banged on the door for a while and entertained Andrew.

Luckily, finally, Sam came to our rescue.  But, only because he had gotten out of the shower to poop, and then came looking for me because he needed some help with the aftermath.