|
| Adventures and NewsThe past few days have not been boring that's for sure. Today, for example, I received a bonus and a raise, and on my way to a checkup for monoxide, I had to cancel my appointment and have my car towed.
In other news, I've also recently nearly made french fries while trying to make hash browns, read through 500 pages of my 800 page C++ book, and was thrilled to see our vacuum cleaner (a MAN's vacuum cleaner) restored to it's full 12 amp potential.
Joshua's growing fast -- he's 12 and half pounds, sleeps through the night, and has recently discovered his feet. He's also surprised me by how much he pays attention when I sit him down and read him a book.
Life is good.
| | |
| For Unto Us a Child is Born ...MAN. Having a son is really something. It's incredible. I shall attempt to journal some first impressions, and how the whole experience has changed several perspectives for me.
The Birth:
For me the whole experience was a 42 hour day that began before 7 am Thursday morning getting up for an early visit to the Midwife Center and ended Saturday with me crashing sometime around 12 am Saturday. I got to sleep 1 hour Thursday and somewhere between 3 to 5 hours on Friday, and since Friday my longest stretch of sleep is 4 hours. I now know what my time as a computer science major at CMU had been preparing me for all along. 
My Wife:
The birth has forever changed how I see my wife. I never knew what physical and emotional strength she possessed.
Fatherhood:
It was weird at first holding a little newborn and knowing factually that he was mine, but feeling like he was really someone else's newborn -- I had the same experience when I first drove my first car, like it wasn't mine. But he is so adorable and unique, I quickly grew to love him.
My Son:
Name: Joshua
Height: 20.5 inches
First Recorded Weight: 7 pounds, 12 oz
Last Known Hideout: Graco Playpen
Joshua is very strong, and has particularly strong legs -- it's hard to hold them still when wrapping his diaper. He is able to pick up his head some if placed on his stomach. He is in love with his hands, having learned to suck them before he was born. He is feisty and persistent when it comes to having their use restricted in any way. He can usually wriggle one out of even the best swaddling job (akin to the great Houdini getting out of a straightjacket). He is a very sound sleeper, and in general pretty easy to please.
Myself:
I feel a little taller knowing that I'm meeting the needs of someone who is totally dependent. I feel compelled to drive much more carefully. And I never knew being sleep deprived could be so much fun.
God:
I struggled for a long time believing God loved me or really cared about me. But now, when I hear that God is my Father, I have the experience what it's like to be a father and love my son, and am blown away to think that God loves me more than that.
| | |
| Farewell to thee ...*Sigh* I'm giving away the first computer I assembled, back in 1998 with my friend Matthew. The same computer I later brought to campus in 2003 and used for four years. I feel like I'm giving away the body of my favorite dog. I've migrated to a newer, faster server, but this one will always have a fond place in my memories.
Here's the notice:
Used this primarily as my personal Linux IMAP server for several
years.
Processor: Am5x86 (133 MHz 486 DX4) system, a little faster than the
Pentium 75MHz.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am5x86
Memory: 94 Mb
Drives and mount points:
/dev/hda1 5.7G /
/dev/hdc1 508M /mnt/hdc1
Please email me or call at (nnn) nnn-nnnn if you're interested, I can
bring it to campus. | | |
| Surprised, SaddenedWent to the store to buy some flowers for my wife, and I saw on the newspaper that Professor Randy from CMU would deliver his last lecture, because he had only months left to live. My first thought was that it was Professor Randy Bryant, the dean of SCS. But then I looked it up on Google and found this Pittsburgh Tribune article.
I was shocked -- I wasn't expecting it would be Randy Bryant, my supervisor when I had been a probationary at the Stage 3 research lab. I cried for a little after reading his blog. Randy is a man who's touched many people, and helped create opportunities to achieve dreams. He's lived more in 47 years than many people do in a longer lifetime, and I am grateful for the honest advice, respect, and attention he showed me.
| | |
| Crazy AugustHad a birthday, went camping, went to a youth retreat, and am about to go to go on our anniversary trip! Hard to believe it's been a whole year already! I wish August had been a little less busy, so I could've focused more on the anniversary.
Today at the prenatal appointment the midwife showed me how to feel my son's head by gripping the right part of my wife's belly. It was a strange experience. I guess I forget how much he's grown.
And of course a post wouldn't be complete without talking about technology: Thursday, August 16th I downloaded Groovy and tried it a little bit during lunchtime, and got it to execute some stuff. I wonder if I'll prefer Jython though ... Java is a bit verbose.
| | |
|
