php -r 'function a($a){$b=explode(",",$a);foreach($b as &$c)echo(chr($c));};a("10,89,111,117,32,114,101,97,108,108,
121,32,115,104,111,117,108,100,110,39,116,32,114,117,110,32,
99,111,109,109,97,110,100,115,32,121,111,117,32,100,111,110,
39,116,32,117,110,100,101,114,115,116,97,110,100,10,10;");' posted by Scott Genevish at 5:10 pm
A few weeks ago, I posted this on Facebook: "I'm curious, how can Obama's financial policies be responsible for the lagging economy when he hasn't been able to enact them?"
I was asked for examples, so I thought I'd make a longer post, explaining what I was thinking.
First, some of the requested examples. In June of 2010, President Obama said that another round of stimulus was needed to prevent the economy sliding back into recession. This stimulus was not passed. In March of 2010, a jobs bill was passed, but it was significantly smaller than the one the Democrats desired. Even the original stimulus bill was smaller than Obama wanted.
Note that I'm not arguing that these would have necessarily helped the economy. I was mainly responding to the current republican talking point that Obamas financial policies have failed. See, for example, Michele Bachman saying, "Today's unemployment report is another stark reminder of the failure of President Obama's economic policies". And Republican Representative Thaddeus McCotter blaming Obama's "failed stimulus and other irresponsible, job-crushing policies".
I'm just annoyed by the stupid, partisan talking points that are intended to win elections, and not actually fair discussions of the issues. posted by Scott Genevish at 10:04 pm
Effective immediately, our old home phone number is no longer active (the one ending in 0100). Contact us on the cell phones... posted by Scott Genevish at 6:39 pm
FYI, I'm testing out being able to share all of my photos (not just the ones I upload to Picasa). Check it out here. posted by Scott Genevish at 1:41 pm
America is too addicted to extreme points of view, with no rational thought behind it.
Neal Boortz is only interested in his own self interests, and is not your friend.
President Obama has some learning to do, but overall his efforts are good.
Parenting is hard. Good parenting is really, really hard.
School is mostly fun.
I'm ready for spring.
I don't care whether a particular song is popular, or was recorded using auto-tune, or was recorded by a team of Japanese robotocists in a lab. If I like it, I like it.
I really value the relationship I have with my sister.
My father did a good job parenting three kids after his wife died.
Life is too short to spend time worrying (I think I read that one somewhere, but it's appropriate).
I miss my friend James more than I ever would have thought I would.
I should have put the boy's 529 money in the mattress instead. It would have appreciated more.
I am very proud of Donnie, and am afraid I don't let him know that enough.
Donnie's birthday was yesterday. Happy Birthday Donnie! (OK, I did say it to him on the right day, just didn't think to post about it until today). My Dad and Step-Mom came up, along with my sister Lynn. We had a party at US Play (bowling for those who aren't familiar with it). Donnie and his friends had a great time. I'll post pictures too... posted by Scott Genevish at 8:59 pm
I generally refrain from posting political articles here, mainly because I could do nothing but post political articles if I started down that path. But there's one thing that I hear repeated lately over and over and I feel the need to give my opinion on it.
As he ends his term in office, it has been frequently repeated that, for all his faults, at least George Bush "kept us safe from terrorists". The idea being that, since there has not been another terrorist attack on US soil, the terrorists have been successfully kept at bay. I disagree with this statement.
Not the part about an other terrorist attacks on US soil, as that part is obviously true. But one thing to consider is, are the terrorists even trying these days? Sending covert operatives into the US with the intent on causing harm is no doubt a difficult task in general, and certainly is has been made more difficult since 9/11. Airports and border crossings are under greater scrutiny than ever. Coupled with the terrorist watch lists (imperfect though they are), it's probably nearly impossible to successfully plan a covert, terrorist attack on US soil.
But do they need to? On September 11, 2001, a total of 2,974 people died in the attacks, including citizens of other countries. However, since that day, 4,228 US citizens have died in Iraq, plus an additional 641 in Afghanistan. Not all of these can be attributed to terrorist attacks, of course, but the vast majority can. Why would the terrorists need to go to the trouble to attack us on US soil, when we are sending US citizens to them to be attacked?
George Bush has done some good things in his presidency. Not many, but some. But "keeping us safe from terrorists" can't be counted one of them. posted by Scott Genevish at 10:58 am
I changed the VIDEOS link (on the left) to go to our YouTube page. Check it out! There's some new videos from our new video camera. posted by Scott Genevish at 3:48 pm
I suppose I should explain the heart image for those who haven't heard. I had some chest pain a while back and went to my doctor to see what was up. He didn't find anything on an EKG, but suggested I see a Cardiologist for a stress test. The stress test seemed to reveal an abnormal EKG, so he suggested a nuclear stress test. That also showed an abnormal EKG, as well as a "shadow" at the bottom of my heart. The shadow seemed to indicate a reduced blood flow, and he recommended a cardiac catheterization to be sure.
The image shown is the result of that test, which happened to reveal that I have no problems with my heart... posted by Scott Genevish at 12:00 pm
Donnie graduated last week too. Here's some pictures of that. He graduated on Thursday. I took Friday off and he and I went to the aquarium. posted by Scott Genevish at 4:29 pm
We went to Auburn to see Heather graduate last Saturday. It was great to see everyone, and we're very proud of Heather (and I'm a little jealous...). See some pictures I took here. posted by Scott Genevish at 4:26 pm
Donnie spent some of his birthday money to buy a toy he saw and was coveting: The Spiderman Web Shooter. See it in action here, and the resulting, web-encased door here. posted by Scott Genevish at 8:36 pm
Yes, it's been a while since I updated this site. I frequently think, "Oh, I should post that on the site." But by the time I get the chance, I've forgotten what it was I was going to post.
I really should make a simple form for posting so I can do it from my iPhone, but again there's the lack of time problem.
Anyway, Thomas came in the bathroom with me tonight and he closed the door. He was quite upset at first when he couldn't get it back open, then he worked at it and figured out how to open it. He sat in there for fifteen minutes opening and closing the door he was so impressed with himself. posted by Scott Genevish at 7:31 pm
OK, I felt it was only fair to add a video of Donnie too, so here's a video of Donnie making a pumpkin cheesecake. I put it on YouTube to make it easier, or you can get the QuickTime version here.
It’s been quite awhile since we have posted anything new (There have been new photos though. –Scott). Trying to keep up with two boys has kept us hopping. Here is an overview of the last 7 months.
We survived the sleepless first few months when Thomas came home. I wound up back in the hospital for a few days a day after coming home with Thomas. It was an ordeal but ended up being nothing serious. While I was there they did drain 30lbs. of fluid out of me in two days. I wished they could have drained about 30 more.
Thomas has thrived so much. He is in the 95% for height and 50% - 75% in weight. (Quite different than what we had with Donnie.) Thomas has not been without his own drama. He had Crainiosyntiosis. Basically his skull platelets were growing too quickly together causing his head to look somewhat deformed. He had surgery to correct this in June and it healed quickly. It’s amazing. They did surgery on his head one day and the following day he came home. If you can handle the sight of his scar, here’s a progression of how quickly it healed. Overall, Thomas is a very happy baby. He babbles a lot, gets around on his back mostly, and adores his big brother.
Donnie has been an awesome big brother. We couldn’t ask for a better kid. Donnie took swimming lessons this summer. He enjoyed them and did really well. Donnie also got an outdoor playset. Now he just needs Thomas to grow up so he can play with him. Donnie started Pre-K this fall and his teacher says he learns very quickly. He is starting to read which continues to make us very proud parents.
After almost seven years, I left my job at Manhattan Associates and now I am Instructional Content Manager for InfoMentis. They provide training and consulting for customer facing roles at companies. You can see my bio on their website here. I love my job. As I frequently tell Scott, everything I work on is fun.
Scott is still at Matria and going to school. He’s hoping to finish by the spring of 2009.
Due to Laurie's gestational diabetes and some other factors, they scheduled the birth to be induced on Friday morning at 7:30. I was a little disappointed. While we had a surprise with Donnie, it wasn't exactly pleasant at the time, seeing as Laurie was three months from her due date. This time I kind of wanted the excitement of being at home when her water broke and we rush to the hospital, etc.
Let this be a lesson to be careful of what you wish for. Thursday night Laurie decided to take a bath to relax. When she stood up, she couldn't tell if all the water coming off her was from the bath or her water breaking. As the water continued to flow, she thought it must be her water. (Funny side story: At one point Laurie was afraid she might have drowned the baby until I pointed out that he had been living in water for nine months now).
The first contractions were ten minutes apart as we grabbed everything we needed and headed to the car. By the time we got moving, the contractions were down to five minutes apart. At this point I was in full crisis mode, evaluating if we should go to Piedmont Hospital, where we had planned on going, or to Kennestone, which is closer.
With the contractions at three minutes apart, I decided we'd go for Piedmont. Expecting the babies head to be poking out from Laurie at any minute, I called Piedmont and asked if they needed to be ready for this. They calmly reassured me they would be ready for us (I take solace in knowing they probably have received this same call many times before).
I dropped Laurie off at the emergency room and parked the car. Laurie tells me that as she was being wheeled into the delivery room in a wheelchair, they were stopped by a large crowd of people blocking the hallway. Laurie yelled "lady having a baby, move!" to get them out of the way. We found out later that was the group touring the labor and delivery facilities. I wish I could have seen their faces.
As Laurie was getting set up in the delivery room, the doctor asked where I was. Laurie said I was parking the car. The doctor then told her I might miss the birth, which had laurie very upset, of course. Fortunately I got there right after that, and we were off.
Laurie gave it quite an effort, but after two and a half hours of pushing, he just wasn't getting past the pubic bone, so we opted for a C-section (after the C-section the doctor said she thought his head had probably been in the wrong position).
And at 12:14 a.m. on February 23rd, Thomas Allen Genevish was born. He was 7 pounds, 12 ounces, and 18 and 3/4 inches long.
In case you've been living under a rock, or haven't noticed the new section on the left side of this page, we're having another baby! It's a boy, due March 5th. Our registry is here. posted by Scott Genevish at 8:57 pm
My sister is coming to town for Donnie's birthday. Here's how much of a geek I am. Yes, that's her flight (well if you check it between about 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, January 2nd). If you want to track a flight yourself, try this.
And yes, I'm excited about Laurie and my parents coming to town too, but I don't have a way of tracking their progress... posted by Scott Genevish at 12:29 am
We went to the Georgia Aquarium today. For those who haven't heard, it recently opened here in Atlanta, and is the largest aquarium in the world. It's quite awesome. My favorite was the Beluga whales. They turn their heads around (the only whales with necks, you know) and look at you. It's very cool.
Donnie had a great time and was quite tired after it. He fell asleep in the car just before we got home, and then couldn't fall back asleep. He started falling asleep at dinner.
Photo's are in the photo album. posted by Scott Genevish at 11:10 pm
We took Donnie to see the Wiggles last weekend. Donnie had a great time. They even throw in a few bits to keep the adults amused, like when Murray went to play the guitar he warmed it up with the beginning of Stairway to Heaven. We had nosebleed seats (even though Laurie bought them within 10 minutes of them going on sale!), but both Murray and Jeff came right by our seats. Very exciting stuff. posted by Scott Genevish at 8:37 pm
We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving yesterday. I had two turkey sandwiches for lunch, and may have a few more for dinner. That's the best part of Thanksgiving!
Laurie's parents are here, helping organize things for the new shed we're getting in a few weeks. As I write this, Donnie is riding his bike with Laurie. posted by Scott Genevish at 8:27 pm
Well, I thought Donnie would be much older before it came to this. I looked forward to many years of love and admiration from him before he got to his "disrespectful" phase. Now I see I'm not to be so lucky.
This morning, Donnie was playing and he fell against the dresser and hit his butt. It wasn't very hard, but it probably stung a little. He promptly stood up, pulled down his pants and said, "Kiss it, Daddy". posted by Scott Genevish at 1:26 am
So, I was with Kinko's for 17 years, and then with Matria for a year and a half. Let's hope this progression doesn't continue.
I just finished my first full week with Tescom. It's a Quality Assurance consulting company. Essentially, other companies hire us to come in and test their software, or help them set up their testing plan.
Things are going well so far. posted by Scott Genevish at 11:53 pm
Yes, it has been a long time since I last updated this page. Here's some updates.
Donnie is now 6 feet tall and 175 pounds of pure muscle. OK, not really, but he is getting bigger. He's loving life and talking a lot. Say something once and he's learned it.
Laurie is doing great too. If you haven't seen her recently, she has lost a lot of weight on Jenny Craig and looks fabulous, Her work has been very busy, but she says it should slow down soon.
We went to Florida the week of July Fourth. We spent a day with my sister in Orlando, and the rest of the time with my parents in the Keys. It was very nice, but too short (as vacations always are...). be sure to check out the photos. posted by Scott Genevish at 8:40 pm
I got A's in both of my classes again (Calculus II and Social Issues in Psychology). I'm taking the summer off, but I register for the fall this week. I'm not sure what I'll take yet. posted by Scott Genevish at 8:53 pm
In case I left you hanging, Donnie's surgery went fine. He and I were having burritos at our favorite Mexican place three hours after the surgery. He's been doing better since. His hearing and balance seems better, and he hasn't had any ear infections. posted by Scott Genevish at 6:29 pm
Yesterday Laurie told me that Donnie had counted to three, all on his own. I wanted to see this for myself, so I said, "Donnie, One..." He continued with, "Two, Three, Four, Five, Six!" posted by Scott Genevish at 6:41 pm
I drop Donnie off this morning and he is sitting at the table eating breakfast and as I leave I ask him to give me a kiss and he sits motionless. I ask again and still motionless. Then Miss Darcy said I was putting him on the spot in front of the boys. Then I look around the table and see all of the other boys staring at me. So I tell Donnie goodbye and give him a light punch in the arm. posted by Laurie Genevish at 1:39 pm
Our Thanksgiving was very nice. We spent it at home, just the family. We ate far too much, which is my favorite part of Thanksgiving.
For Christmas, we went to Lauries parents house. Be sure to look at the photos of Donnie playing with all his toys. He loved it.
In school, I got A's in both my classes (Data Communications and Calculus I). I was rather surprised, especially considering that I got a 49 on my first Calculus test.
This semester I'm taking Calculus II and Social Issues in Psychology (a required class).
That's all I have time for now. More later... posted by Scott Genevish at 12:06 pm
It was pointed out to me that I haven't posted anything in a while, so here's some miscellaneous updates.
Donnie is doing well. He's had fluid in his ear for a few weeks now. If it gets infected, they'll put tubes in his ear. He's also been going to swimming lessons at the YMCA. He loves the water and is doing great. He can put his face under to blow bubbles, and jumps off the side into our arms (well, he really kind of bends down and falls off, but it's an effort).
He loved Halloween. When the doorbell rang, I'd say, "OK Donnie, let's go give candy!", and we'd both run to the door. He thought that was very cool.
We got new carpet in the living room Monday. If you had seen our old carpet, you'd know why we needed the new stuff.
Although I haven't added news here recently, I HAVE added photos recently, so be sure to check out the photos section. posted by Scott Genevish at 4:07 pm
This morning when we came downstairs, I told Donnie, "OK, we need to get our shoes on". Then I put him down and went to look for my shoes. When I turned around, he was gone. I figured he was playing in the other room or something, but then he came out of the office with my shoes in his arms... posted by Scott Genevish at 12:11 pm
Laurie and I went to see the Van Halen concert Friday. Those guys still have it. We were gonna buy Donnie a little Van Halen shirt if they had them, but they only had adult sizes. A missed opportunity on their part if you ask me... posted by Scott Genevish at 8:27 pm
Aaaaaaand... we're back. Had a bit of a problem with my DSL last week. It's a really long story that I don't even want to re-live. Let's just say we no longer have BellSouth and are using a Comcast cable modem now and leave it at that. Also, our home phone should work now too. (It was rolling over to Lauries cell phone before). posted by Scott Genevish at 9:17 pm
We just got our new phone service today. It's the wave of the future. It's a product called Voice-over-IP (VoIP). Basically we now make all of our calls over the Internet, through our high-speed Internet access.
Why would we do this you ask? Well, it's $30 a month for unlimited local and long distance calling. It includes voicemail, call waiting, caller ID and call forwarding. Voicemail messages can be checked from a web-page, or they can be emailed directly to you as a sound file. If we travel, we can take the box with us and plug it in to someone else's Internet connection and receive our phone calls there.
Overall, it's very cool. If you want to know more, give us a call! (Oh, and if you want to try it, if we refer you, we both get a discount...) posted by Scott Genevish at 10:20 pm
We got back from our Florida trip yesterday. It was mostly an uneventful trip (the best kind of vacation), but there were some notable exceptions.
As we were driving down to the Keys, a car in front of us flipped on it's side. Laurie pulled over and I ran over and pulled the people out of the car. The kids in the back were shaken up, and the Dad had a cut on his arm, but otherwise everyone was fine.
Our time in the Keys was great. You can see photos in the photo library, including the 11 lobster we caught (OK, my brother was really the one who caught them with a little help from me, but they still tasted fine.)
On Thursday we prepped the house for hurricane Charley, which ended up missing the Keys. Well, we were planning to start heading back on Friday anyway, and I thought Laurie should get to go through a real hurricane, so we headed to Orlando to be with my sister. Hurricane Charley hit us at around 9:30 Friday night with winds of up to 100 mph. We were rather enjoying the excitement until a large pine tree snapped in half and landed in my sister's yard. Everything worked out though and we sustained no damage (the neighbors mailbox was flattened though). Driving around the neighborhood the next day showed that everyone wasn't so lucky. No one got hurt that we know of, but a few houses has trees in them... (Oh, and those pictures of devastation you saw on the news? That was nowhere near us). posted by Scott Genevish at 5:04 pm
We're back from the beach trip. Excellent fun was had by all. Photos are available for your browsing. The pace we stayed at was "Martinique on the Gulf" in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The forecast called for rain every day, but it only rained for a couple of days, and not even the whole day.
Donnie was sick the whole week (with another ear infection we found out this morning), but he still had a good time. He loves the beach (except for the taste...). posted by Scott Genevish at 12:11 am
We had a great time at the two weddings. We're all glad the flying is done for a while though. Donald did great. He slept part of the way and was pretty good the rest of the time, considering he was stuck sitting in our laps.
Tom and Peters weddings were both wonderful, and it was nice visiting with everyone. posted by Scott Genevish at 12:20 pm
Well, Donald is walking now. He's got some cool shoes, although he doesn't like them very much.
We'll be going to Connecticut next weekend for my brother Tom's wedding, and Reno the following weekend for my friend Peters wedding. Should be fun! posted by Scott Genevish at 4:10 pm
By the way, my final grades are in for the semester. I got an A in English Composition and (surprisingly) a B in Accounting. I really was thinking a C for Accounting. It was tough (but I did learn a lot about financial statements.)
So far that's two B's and all the rest have been A's. I'll be taking the summer off and starting up again in the fall. posted by Scott Genevish at 1:01 pm
Donnie and I went to the Lenox Mall in Atlanta to see Alton Brown. It was great. He made beef jerky. I'm going to have to try it if I can find a large fan and some air conditioner filters... He said the recipe will be on his website in a week or so. posted by Scott Genevish at 5:20 pm
Well, Donnie is pretty much speaking now. He's been saying Dada and Mama for a while, but we never really got a strong impression that he knew what they were. But this morning he was saying Bye and waving.
OK, it's not the State of the Union, but it's a start... posted by Scott Genevish at 1:09 pm
We got the results of Donalds biopsy on the bump they removed during his surgery. It was a Mastocytoma, which is not as scary as it sounds. posted by Scott Genevish at 3:56 pm
It's been in the 70's here the past few days, and I'm quite glad for the spring weather. I don't mind the cold for a few weeks, but it gets tiring after several months. At least we finally got some snow to make it interesting, just before the warm weather kicked in... posted by Scott Genevish at 1:57 am
As I was driving home from school tonight, listening to "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet, I was thinking of the types of music I like, and I thought I'd share the three qualities I find appealing in music. Any song I like will have at least one of these three qualities. For each quality I'll list an example song so you can see (or hear) what I mean.
Vocal Quality
This relates to a certain interesting or unusual quality of the vocals. For example, the Britney Spears song Lucky has a warbley, gravelly sound to the vocals that I find interesting. (James, feel free to send your derisive remarks to scott@genevish.org, and I'll respond in kind.)
Lyrics
Lyrics that tell an interesting, humerous or stirring story interest me. For example, the lyrics in the Kenny Rogers song, "The Greatest," are quite funny. (Note: The link will show you the printed lyrics, but it's really better if you hear the song.)
The Beat
Basically, any song that has an interesting beat. It might be strong and thumping, fast and loud, or powerfully moving, such as Ebud? by Enya.
Just a quick update on Donnie. He's eating solid foods now. We had tuna casserole for dinner the other night and he loved it. He's drinking whole milk now too...no more formula. We're trying to get him off the bottle and onto a sippy-cup, but it's going to be a struggle.
He's crawling army-man style still, but can pull himself up to standing and is even walking along the couch a little. He just started clapping last night too.
As for medical issues, nothing new. He's got another ear infection right now. The doctor will check him again in a couple of months, and if he's still getting them regularly, they may put tubes in his ears. Next Monday he has surgery to remove a small bump on his arm. No one really knows what it is. It's kind of like a scar, but he never got hurt there. It just appeared several months ago and hasn't gone away. It's no big deal removing it, and better now than later. posted by Scott Genevish at 3:23 pm
I told you week one was good for the new job. Here we are at week two, and things just keep getting better. My boss called me into his office yesterday and said he wanted to bring me on as a regular employee. The pay will be the same, but I'll get benefits, and won't have to worry about finding a new job in six months. posted by Scott Genevish at 1:14 am
Week one of my new job has come to a close, and it's been a good week. I learned more about healthcare this week than I ever thought I could, met a lot of my co-workers, and didn't have one annoying customer to help!
In Donald news, he's been a little sick (we took him to the doctor this morning, and she suggested we start with the nebulizer again a couple times a day until he feels better). He's got three teeth now, and is sooo close to crawling! Maybe by his birthday... posted by Scott Genevish at 5:48 pm
Donald saw the doctor this morning for his Synagis shot,and they said he can stop using the nebulizer. That means he's done with all his medicines! It's been a while since that was true. Let's hope this stays this way for a while. posted by Scott Genevish at 1:37 pm
I hope you all had a great year last year, and will have an even better 2004.
Last night Laurie was throwing her hands in the air and saying, "Happy New Year!" to Donnie, and he thought that was SO funny... posted by Scott Genevish at 3:21 pm
Well, the new year is approaching, and it brings several Kinko's changes for me.
Firstly, you may have seen the news. Kinko's is being purchased by FedEx. It seems like a good fit for both companies actually, and I don't think it'll affect the co-workers much.
The second bit of news is a bit closer to home.
After 17 years of service, I'll be leaving Kinko's. I accepted a position at Georgia-Pacific Corporation as a web-developer intern. It's a step back as far as my skills are concerned, but it's a foot in the door with a good company, and it's technology related.
I've been pretty burned out on Kinko's for some time now, and I'm excited about this job. posted by Scott Genevish at 2:01 pm
We hope everyones Christmas was as great as ours. We were in the Florida Keys, at my parents new house. The temperature was a frigid 72 degrees during the day, dropping to the upper 60's at night. Days were spent out in the boat diving or fishing, and the rest of the time was for eating lot's of food. posted by Scott Genevish at 12:21 am
I took my last final today, yippee! A few weeks off will be nice, as will having different classes. They get boring after a while... posted by Scott Genevish at 11:12 pm
I had Donald in his walker this morning when I was doing dishes, and he was contentedly playing with his toys, so I went upstairs to take a shower while Laurie watched him. When I got out of the shower, this is what I found... posted by Scott Genevish at 2:36 pm
We hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. Ours was great. Laurie's parents are staying with us and we had a grand feast.
Donald got sick the day after Thanksgiving. His doctor says he has a sinus and ear infection. He's feeling much better today though, thanks to antibiotics and lots of love. posted by Scott Genevish at 12:26 am
If it works well, I'll be dropping the current email next year. And if you want your own genevish.org email address, let me know! posted by Scott Genevish at 6:00 pm
What a big weekend for Donald. He was scheduled for surgery this morning to finish off the last of his hernia problem, but more was in store before we got to that.
On Saturday morning Laurie said she thought Donald's head was warm and he was getting sick. He felt fine to me so I chalked it up to Motherly paranoia. Well, by late afternoon, even his ignorant father could tell that his head was indeed getting quite warm.
I figured it was a small cold and would be no problem, until around 7 p.m. when he stared screaming and wouldn't stop, even when held. This is very unusual for Donald, as he is almost always calm, and quiets easily when held or given his pacifier.
This was enough to spur us to action. I took his temperature and it registered 102?. We took him down the road to the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta immediate care center (which is only about 5 miles from our house).
Sure enough, his temperature was "almost 104?" according to the nurse. They did a blood test to rule out any bacterial infection, and suggested we see our doctor on Monday.
Sunday we called Dr Stovaroff and he said as long as Donald didn't have anything in his lungs, we were still on for surgery. So, we just got back from the hospital for the surgery (it was a quick outpatient thing), and Donald is sleeping. He did fine in the surgery and should be back to jumping all over the place by Wednesday. posted by Scott Genevish at 2:38 pm
I posted some pictures of Donald in his Halloween costume. Several of the kids coming to our door said hi to Superman.
Donald is doing great, sleeping well and getting bigger by the day. He's going in for the doctor to fix the last of his hernia on the 10th (a quick outpatient thing), and his 9 month checkup is on the 21st. posted by Scott Genevish at 7:32 pm
Well, Donald is now "sleeping like a baby", as the saying goes. He goes to bed around 8:30 and wakes at around 7:30, happy and ready to face the day. It is truly a beautiful thing. posted by Scott Genevish at 12:53 pm
OK, those who know me know I am a devout fan of Macintosh computers. I have many reasons why, but when I saw it, I just had to share this one with you. posted by Scott Genevish at 12:34 am
Donald had his first real solid food (he's had rice cereal in his bottle for a while now). And the verdict? Butternut squash is mmmm, mmmm, good! He ate 1/3 of a jar, then 6 whole ounces of formula too. That's the most he's ever eaten! posted by Scott Genevish at 11:09 pm
Well, Donald has decided he needs to tell his story to the world.
For the last few days, he has been quite the babbler. He goes on and on. It's really funny. I'll post a sound clip soon. posted by Scott Genevish at 11:07 pm
Well, Donald went into the doctor last week to check out his cough he's had. they decided it was a throat and sinus infection and gave us some antibiotics.
On the plus side, we found out he's now 13 pounds, 3 ounces! posted by Scott Genevish at 12:35 am
Well, we're back. Read on for the whole sordid tale.
I own a PowerMac G4, "mirrored drive door" model. When it was first released, many users complained that the fans in the computer were too loud, so Apple later released a new power supply to fix the problem. I installed this new power supply a few months ago. More on this later.
Two weeks ago, I was sitting at my computer, when it suddenly crashed. Just stopped working.
This is very unusual. In fact, it is the first time this computer has ever crashed. I restarted it, and tried every trick I know but couldn't get it working so the next day I brought it in to my local Apple Store to have the Mac Genius take a look.
After checking it out, he decided it probably was the hard drive cable I had crimped when installing the aforementioned power supply, but to be safe, he recommended I leave it for a thorough checkup. Since it's still under warranty, I said sure.
After the techs had it for more than two weeks, and replaced the motherboard and the CPU, they finally agreed with the first diagnosis and replaced the cable. All at no charge to me fortunately. posted by Scott Genevish at 12:32 am
In case you are wondering, no, Donald is still not sleeping through the night. He tends to wake up between three and four, although he's only eating a few ounces of formula then, so he may get past it soon.
He's smiling and laughing all the time now (except when he's hungry. Don't mess with the boys eating time), and grabbing at stuff a lot too. posted by Scott Genevish at 3:16 pm
Well, Donald decided to wake Daddy up at 2am last night (and again at 5...). We'll see if he can duplicate the 9 hours again tonight. posted by Scott Genevish at 3:48 pm
As far as other progress for Donald, he's doing fine. The doctor is pleased with his weight gain, and he's smiling at everyone now (although he didn't smile for Doctor Heaven. Maybe because she had just given a shot to another baby and Donald heard the scream...). posted by Scott Genevish at 10:07 pm
Donald has been sick with a cold or something for a week or more, and we decided to bring him to the doctor to make sure he was OK. She said he's fine, but did give us some medicine for his spitting up. We'll see how that works. posted by Scott Genevish at 10:05 pm
We were out of town for the fourth, so here's a belated Happy Fourth of July! Donald is wearing his special outfit in the picture to the left. posted by Scott Genevish at 10:03 pm
Well, Donald got his 4 month checkup today. Everything is looking great. He's behind where a 4 month old should be, but since he was really due only a month ago he's ahead of the curve and catching up fast.
He ate nearly six ounces of formula in the doctors office, which is more than he has ever eaten, so we figured he was showing off for Doctor Heaven, but then he peed on her, so maybe not. posted by Scott Genevish at 10:13 pm
Donald had his hernia surgery today. I just spoke to Laurie and everything seems to have gone exceedingly well. I'm sure Donald is glad he can eat again (no solid food from midnight on before surgery you know).
He's got bandages on for a while, so no baths for two days, but otherwise he should be just fine. posted by Scott Genevish at 1:05 am
Well, I started summer school last week. Woohoo. I'm taking the next Java Programming class, and Pre-Calculus. As this is a short session anyway, I'm thinking I may have chosen badly. We'll see if I need to drop one. posted by Scott Genevish at 5:22 pm
We just got back from Laurie's sisters in Memphis. Had a great time visiting with everyone (and getting some extra sleep was quite nice as well...) posted by Scott Genevish at 2:46 am
We just got back from the Doctor for his second checkup. Everything is still looking great. His weight is now 7 pounds, 13 ounces! Almost 8 pounds... His hernia is looking as good as a hernia can. We have an appointment with the surgeon a week from Tuesday about that.
By the way, his doctors name is "Dr. Heaven". Is that a sign of a good doctor or what? posted by Scott Genevish at 8:00 pm
Well, Donald gave Laurie quite the treat tonight. He rolled over from his stomach to his back. Twice! Very exciting... posted by Scott Genevish at 11:46 pm
Donald is over 7 pounds now
He has a hernia, which will require an outpatient procedure. It's not a big deal, apparently
We all have conjunctivitis (pink-eye), with Laurie being the worst off.
I had some problems with the site update, so some of the articles may have the wrong dates/times on them
That's about it for now. posted by Scott Genevish at 2:41 pm
Well, we were having some serious problems with the breastfeeding, but we just tried again, and he finally get's the concept. He ate for 10 minutes solid. What a relief.
We had a lactation consultant from the "La Leche League" come out to give Laurie some tips this afternoon. posted by Scott Genevish at 10:04 pm
Donald had his first doctors visit yesterday. He's doing great! 5 pounds, 13 ounces now and at the rate he's going, he should be 6 poounds by the end of the week. He didn't much like the 3 shots he got, or the stick in the heel (for blood samples).
We stopped by Kinko's yesterday to show him to my co-workers, who were very impressed. "My little copy", I call him...
Overall, we're starting to figure out the routine, although we'll be glad to have our parents here shortly... posted by Scott Genevish at 10:03 pm
I had planned on helping Kinko's with some work while I was on family leave. They recently lost their Document Creation person, and I though, "Hey, I'll be sitting at home, doing little but feeding the boy every once in a while. I can do some work on my computer for an hour or two in-between feedings. I'll make some extra money, and help out Kinko's."
OK, those of you who have children can stop laughing now. I get the joke.
For those of you who don't have children, it goes something like this:
He gets fed every three hours. He eats (from the bottle) in about 20 minutes or so. Add another, say 20 minutes for changing diaper, giving medicine, etc. This leaves over 2 hours of leisure time, right?
OK, really, you parents can stop laughing any time now.
You see, it doesn't quite work that well. First, Donald is not eating from the bottle, he's breastfeeding, which, for now, takes longer. Plus, since he's still getting the hang of breastfeeding, he gets a bottle after, to make sure he got enough.
You also need to add time to get the bottle ready, time to help Laurie set up the breast pump (Hey, I'm a considerate husband!), time to clean up after it all, and time to re-set the stage for the next feeding.
As it stands now, I'm getting a little over an hour of free time between feedings. Still plenty of time you say? Let's not forget I'm doing this routine all day and night. Lack of a good nights sleep has a profound effect on my productivity.
I'm still hopeful, however, that I can get a better system worked out, and Donald will get better at the breast feeding thing so I can maybe get more done in the down time.
(OK, you parents really need to get out more.) posted by Scott Genevish at 3:33 pm
The warden finally released us! Donald is home and sleeping soundly in his car carrier. He was so comfortable in it, we put him back after his feeding.
The apnea monitor caused some problems in the nursery when we hooked it up (it's MUCH louder than the other alarms in there), but it hasn't beeped once since then.
More pictures soon... posted by Scott Genevish at 1:00 pm
Well, big news. Donald should be home Wednesday! He's eating like a champ, even breast feeding once a day, and is off all his medicine. We go in tomorrow to see how the apnea monitor he'll be coming home with works. posted by Scott Genevish at 1:00 pm
The boy is now up to three full feedings a day from the bottle. Yes folks, he'll probably be coming home soon. (Once he's taking all 8 feedings from the bottle, they boot him.)
Needless to say, Laurie and I are getting quite excited. posted by Scott Genevish at 1:00 pm
Well, we did feed the boy today and he did great! He took almost half his feeding from the bottle. He seemed to be getting the "eat, swallow, breath, repeat as necessary" bit down. We were having to stop every minute or so at first so he could breath, but then he went for five minutes or so with the bottle in his mouth. Laurie will go tomorrow morning and feed him again. We'll see how he does. posted by Scott Genevish at 1:00 pm
Let's see, I haven't posted in a few days and a lot has happened since then:
Donald is at 4 pounds, 10 ounces.
They had an overload of babies in the ICU, so they had to take over the Intermediate care unit, which they moved down the hall. It's a bit crowded, but it works. And in case you're keeping track, this is the fourth room Donald has seen in his six weeks of life, tying with Laurie for the number of rooms they've been in at the hospital (Laurie was moved around a lot too...).
They had been feeding him from a bottle for one feding a day, but he was not getting enough oxygen, so they stopped it for now. They'll start again in a few days.
He had an eye exam, which came out perfect (I'm not sure exactly what they checked though).
OK, those doctors are crazy. We just were at the hospital and talked directly to the doctor, who told us they would probably try giving Donald a bottle again in a few days. We get a phone call a few hours ago, and the doctor said they want to try the bottle again tonight! Crazy, I tell you... posted by Scott Genevish at 1:00 pm
Well, we got a bit of an unexpected surprise yesterday. When I went to see Donnie, they took him off the oxygen tube and out of the incubator! Laurie had just been their a few hours earlier and they said it would be a few days still.
Also, Laurie just called from the hospital and he's 4 pounds, 3 ounces now. posted by Scott Genevish at 8:37 pm
Big news today. Donald has been moved out of the ICU and into the Intermediate care nursery! Nothing else has changed yet, but it's another step in his coming home...
Also, he's at 3 pounds, 13 ounces now. posted by Scott Genevish at 10:32 pm
Well, Donald still has his CPAP tube off. They re-scheduled his head scan (to see if there's a chance of brain damage or something, I'm not quite sure) for tomorow when the expert is available.
The nurse tonight told me the boy shot poop all the way across the floor tonight when they changed his diaper. The boy's got spunk!
;-)
Also, the geek-master has created Donald Screensavers! Be the first on your block to download one today! (For Mac OS and even Windows!) posted by Scott Genevish at 1:48 am
A couple more photos of the boy here and here. Yes, he has his CPAP tube off. Yea! We're not holding our breath though (no pun intended), as this is the third time they've had it off. We'll see if he stays off this time.
I sure hope so. He really doesn't like that thing. posted by Scott Genevish at 2:38 am
Donald gained a few ounces. He's currently at 2.5 pounds. Not quite his birth weight, bt getting there!
I was thinking of an analogy for this recently. It's like we bought a new car, but can only drive it by going back to the dealer and test driving it... posted by Scott Genevish at 9:09 pm
Well, still more good news on the Donald front. He's off the ventilator and eating breastmilk now. Woohoo! They were weighing him last night, but I haven't heard the number yet. I'll post it when I do. Also, my sister Lynn is visiting (thanks Lynn), and she's taking some pictures of him, so we'll post them when she get's them developed. posted by Scott Genevish at 2:52 pm
I forgot to tell you his "stats" in my story. Donald was 2 pounds, 13 ounces at birth and 14.75 inches long.
As for his health, his blood pressure is still a little off, but they have stopped giving him Dopamine, so he sems to be getting better on that front. There's really nothing else wrong with him, other than being a little guy.
I made a short video after seeing him today. posted by Scott Genevish at 12:14 am
Well, what a week it's been. When I got home from class on Tuesday, Laurie was having abdominal pains. We thought it might just be gas or possibly a bowel movement obstructed by the baby (the new name for the baby is, "our little bowel movement"), but the doctor wasn't sure so we drove down to the hospital. Laurie wasn't thrilled with the idea. As she put it, "I don't want them poking me with needles."
By the time I had dropped Laurie off at the emergency room, parked the car and found what room they had taken her too, they had determined she was indeed in pre-term labor. The next step was, you guessed it, to stick her with a needle. They wanted to start an IV so the nurse got out her little kit. After three unsuccessful tries and a fair amount of wincing from Laurie they decided to call the IV team to take care of things. Well, they tried two more times. Next they decided to call the real pro's. The anesthesiologist was finally able to get the IV in on his second try. Good thing as his next attempt would have been in her neck...
Since she was not due for nearly 3 months, they tried everything they could to get her to stop the contractions. The put her on magnesium, a muscle relaxant, which started to work on Wednesday, so she was wheeled out of the delivery room and into a regular room.
Wednesday night her water partially broke, but the plan was still to try to keep the baby from coming out as long as possible, as every day adds to the baby's chances. Friday at about 6:00 p.m. we were looking at the Chinese food menu to have some local takeout brought in (something other than hospital food), and Laurie said she wasn't hungry and wasn't feeling well. The nurse determined she had a slight fever and the doctor was called. They checked and found some fluid on her lungs, so the doctor decided they'd better get the baby out. She was wheeled back into a delivery room (the third room we'd been in, if you're keeping count) to begin the delivery.
The anesthesiologist was called and he started discussing options for what kind of pain block to use. They checked her cervix and she was 5 centimeters dilated. The doctor broke the rest of her water and told her to let him know if she felt any additional pressure. He had no more than turned around when she said, "I feel pressure!". He checked and sure enough she was at 8 cm already! The doctor told the anesthesiologist he'd better move quick if he was going to get the saddle-block in. He got the block in and laid Laurie back on her back when the doctor checked again and Laurie was at the full 10 cm. Time to push!
Laurie didn't get more than 4 or 5 pushes before I saw a little head poke out. (Yes, I was at Laurie's side and watching the whole thing. I never passed out once!). One more push and the baby appeared. The doctor cut the umbilical cord (he told me ahead of time I wouldn't be able to do it, but I really was OK with that), and the baby was whisked to the team of neonatal doctors for his checkup and such. The entire process took about 30 minutes.
So that was the birth of our son, Donald Fabian Genevish, whom you can see pictures of here, here and here. The name comes from the middle names of our fathers. Donald (I think I'll call him Donnie), is doing as well as can be expected at this point. He's having a bit of low blood pressure, but the doctor says that is normal for such an early baby. Overall he is improving by the hour so far. we'll continue to post updates here, and call as many of you as we can. We certainly thank you for thinking of us. posted by Scott Genevish at 11:08 pm
Well, here are some photos of our baby! First the baby's face, and the face outlined for clarity, and the profile, and the profile outlined as well. I'm still working on the video clip. posted by Scott Genevish at 11:24 pm
I found a great car repair place near me here in Marietta. Canton Car Care only charged me $70 to replace my brake pads, where the local Meineke said I needed new rotors (which I knew was false, as I had checked them myself before coming to them.)
If you want to find your own mechanic, check out the search on the Car Talk website. posted by Scott Genevish at 6:31 pm
"Your Web page should include a link to your r?sum?, links to at least three other Web sites that you have found useful or interesting, as well as a link to your e-mail address."
So just to make sure I get it all right, here's my r?sum?, some sites I find interesting here, here and here, and you can email me here. posted by Scott Genevish at 10:46 pm
Oh, I forgot to tell you. Laurie and I went with a friend of hers to see Bill Cosby last Saturday.
It was at the Fox Theatre, which is quite impressive, and Bill was hilarious. I've always been a fan of his and it was cool to see him in person. posted by Scott Genevish at 6:30 pm
Let's see, it's been a while since I last updated this.
I am attending Kennesaw State university now, and actually loving it. I hated school as a youth, but now find it rather relaxing and enjoyable. I'm getting an easy "A" in Computer Science, and probably about a "B" in English Composition.
Not a whole lot else to tell for now. posted by Scott Genevish at 12:44 am
Missy, one of the Assistant Managers at Kinko's made a deal with the co-workers. If we beat our sales projections for July by a certain amount, she'd shave her head. And she didn't think we'd make it...
I posted some links to pictures from rafting last weekend. It was a lot of fun, but the water was very cold (Yes, I'm a wimp when it comes to cold water.)
I'll post some other pictures I took later, after I mow the lawn.
Those other pictures are now linked from the rafting photos page (at the bottom). posted by Scott Genevish at 3:34 am
Laurie comes home today. Yay! I haven't slept well without her next to me. Funny how you get used to something like that. I slept just fine by myself for the first 30 years of my life... posted by Scott Genevish at 9:23 pm
I know it's been a while, so here's some quick updates. I'm working at a Kinko's branch again, as a Senior Customer Consultant. It's more of a Sales position than I'd like, but it's a good branch with good people, so It'll do for now. posted by Scott Genevish at 10:28 pm
Well, job possibilities abound now. There's a Webmaster position at Laurie's work which I'm perfectly suited for (they're using PHP and MySQL on Linux servers). I applied and am waiting to hear.
Also, I applied for the Atlanta Apple Store that should be opening any day now (in the Lenox mall in Buckhead.) Ideally, I'd like to get the Webmaster position, and work part-time at the Apple Store on the weekends. (40% discount for employees!). posted by Scott Genevish at 1:08 pm
Well, we're back from our trip to Reno. Skiing was great, and so was seeing James, Kim, Peter and Ethan. I forgot the camera, so I'll post pictures when Elizabeth gets hers and I can scan them. posted by Scott Genevish at 2:54 pm
Merry Christmas! We're enjoying the Florida Keys with my parents. The weather is in the high 70's today. We went scuba diving yesterday in probably ther nicest weather I have ever seen down here. Hope you are having a great day too. posted by Scott Genevish at 7:57 pm
For those of you who use Windows, Microsoft just announced the biggest security hole in Windows ever. This can allow anyone to take complete control of your computer, just by you connecting to the Internet (and if you're reading this, you're on the Internet.)
A fix for the problem can be found here. posted by Scott Genevish at 2:47 pm
Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me! (OK, it was yesterday, but close enough). Laurie took me to The Imperial Fez for dinner Sunday. Cool place. posted by Scott Genevish at 6:15 pm
The recruiter called me about the Emory job. She still hasn't heard from the hiring manager. I must say, she's quite thorough. posted by Scott Genevish at 3:52 am
Well, the interview went great. She's passing my info on to the hiring manager. She thinks I may hear some feedback by Friday. posted by Scott Genevish at 8:38 pm
I have an interview with another recruiter. It would be a great job, especially for me. It's a position as a Macintosh Tech support person for Emory University. They have some amazing benefits. Check out the retirement plan. posted by Scott Genevish at 2:45 pm
I saw a post for a PHP and MySQL developer position today at dice.com. That's me! It's only a 2 month contract, but maybe it'll turn into full time. I'm calling the person now... posted by Scott Genevish at 6:14 pm
Well, I'm back from "The Chubb Institute". A nice, full featured program for business programming, if you happen to have $16,000 to spend... I'll keep looking. posted by Scott Genevish at 7:51 pm
Well, I'm off to "The Chubb Institute" to see about Java programming classes. Oh, and my meeting tomorrow with the recruiter from Carter baldwin was rescheduled for the following Friday, and is now with a new person (she handles more technology jobs.) posted by Scott Genevish at 2:33 pm