BLOG: Mitch Wilson, Austin TX Web & Multimedia Developer – Austin, TX

Awesome Father’s Day gift

My poor wife. I'm such a jerk. She got me this awesome magnifying glass for Father's Day, and I turned my nose up at it. Can you believe that? Thankfully I realized a few hours later, while she was napping. And she's pregnant, due tomorrow. The last thing she needs is me giving her grief over magnification power.

She just knew I've been talking about getting a magnifying glass. She was paying attention to my needs. But she did seem to forget that I am geeky about this kind of stuff. I was in the Boy Scouts. I had a compass. I know how to safely start a campfire. I care about things like the magnification power of a magnifying glass. And hers did not make the cut.

But I was wrong. Totally wrong. This magnifying glass is great. Yes, it's only 2x magnification, and I wanted at least 10x. By the way, once I told her that, she dug up a loupe (which is what I really wanted, not a magnifying glass) that she's had all along. That made my day! She went to take a nap. And while she was sleeping ...

I tested out the new magnifying glass and the new-to-me loupe. It turns out that I had a need for both: a 2x lens and a 10x loupe. For example, I can use the magnifying glass to check out the new Yokomo drifting rc car I just got off ebay. The 2x power actually works very well for seeing tiny screws. And it's hand held, unlike the loupe which really needs to be placed on a table. So the hand-held functionality of the magnifying glass is absolutely needed. Now, aside from the functionality, there is the esthetic. This thing looks cool. Beautiful. Elegant. Nicely weighted in the hand. And it has a built-in spot light that came with a battery installed. I've had so much fun with it while she's sleeping. I can't wait for her to wake up so I can thank her. And apologize.

My wife's thoughfulness has opened up a whole new type of gadget for me: magnifying glasses. I need to add to my current collection. I could get one of the head-mounted numbers. And a telescope, which I've wanted forever now. And a microscope, in case I need to do some biology for some reason or other.