Today I switched from Firefox to Chrome.

I've been using Firefox since the mid 2000's, when it came out to replace the bulky Mozilla suite. It's with some nostalgia that I'm making the switch, but I've ran into several bugs in Firefox that weren't getting resolved.

(While typing this, I did discover that Chrome does not have auto-recover for text areas, which is annoying but thankfully there is a browser extension Typio that helps).

The nail in the coffin was the release of Firefox Quantum last year, when they stopped supporting XUL plugins. I understand the rationale -- but it broke several important plugins, including all those for mass-password reset. In the six months since the switch there haven't been any new plugins written that allow me to change all my 100+ work logins at once.

Firefox also did not work when I was presenting something under WebEx. That might have been WebEx's problem -- but it's annoying enough since I screen-share at least once a day.

So here we are, in a brave new world,

Last Friday there was a big storm and the big tree at Nora's school fell over. Kind of sad, it was big beautiful tree.

It feels like things are easier now. The boys are slightly more independent, and need us less frequently for basic stuff like picking up fallen items. They also talk more and more, which is wonderful. They are so cute!

Leo likes the routine we have for going to bed. First brushing of the teeth, slokje water, then potty, the hands, schone toet and then voorlezen.

This afternoon I skipped a step and he corrected me: Ik heb niet water gedrinkt. Ik gaan zelf!

When the boys are discussing something, they are so funny. Here is an excerpt of what they discussed in the car today -- listen to the whole conversation (MP3).

Leo: "Adrian zegt sleepwagen! Kiepwagen is dat!"
Adrian: "Geen kiepwagen."

Nora vraagt heel diplomatiek: "Leo had het een bak erachter?" "Leo: kiepwagen. Ja een bak." Adrian: "ja, het was een bakker".

A little over a week ago I was a little annoyed with Nora in the morning -- she had disappeared downstairs just when I wanted to get her dressed. She showed herself down the stairs with a big smile and said: dat heb ik zelf al gedaan pap! She had dressed herself, and she has been doing that every morning ever since. Which is great because that saves another step in the morning.

She also showed me, proudly, that she can now reach the rope of the light in her closet: papa, kijk! ik kan er nu bij!.

It's quite amazing to hear her speak English also. Last weekend she translated her Dutch book for Judy -- a perfect translation in perfect American English.