Cyclopean Columns

Which Serenity character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

Hoban 'Wash' Washburne 75% Kaylee Frye 75% The Operative 63% Inara Serra 63% Simon Tam 63% River Tam 56% Shepherd Derrial Book 56% Capt. Mal Reynolds 50% Zoe Alleyne Washburne 38% Jayne Cobb 13% Which Serenity character are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Well, I wouldn't have believed it if I had simply been told - all the baby books talk about it as being "normal", and certainly we had experienced a range of examples that all fit the bill, except for this one.

What am I talking about? Poo, and poo colour. Mostly, the bub has been producing stuff that varies from english mustard to mashed pumpkin, with occasional stylistic references to just a hint of lime. That is, until tonight.

This evening we were greeted with the crowning achievement of baby poo, spoken of in hushed tones and revered in maternal circles the world over - we got green! Most of the respected baby texts indicate that this is completely normal, and that the poo could be anything from yellow to orange to lettuce green. Well, that's what we got - something that looked like a nappy which had been filled with mint sauce.

My work as a parent is complete. Any more colours and the bub could get a job working for Pantone...

Saw this little phenomenon on the 7th of September, and managed to take some vague, blurry photos of it. What you see here is (from top to bottom) Venus, the Moon and Jupiter. To the left of the moon is Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. The second picture shows it in more detail. I just wish I had a camera good enough to do this sort of conjunction justice...

There's a summary article of this event on space.com.

Oh, and I did a bit of a digital tweak on the overview picture on my DeviantArt account.

This post will probably have a few people scratching their heads. All I can say is, I now have a much, much better understanding of how sleep deprivation and stress can impact on a person's psychological wellbeing.

Those that know me know that I'm at least a fair to middling handyperson. I've made shelves, a workbench, crockery boxes, a bedhead... and I've also contributed to a greater or lesser extent on no less than five gers. In short, I'm not unfamiliar with tools and whatnot, and I normally know what it is that I'm doing.

Which is why a couple of weeks ago I found myself in unfamiliar territory. My recently-arrived first child was about two weeks old, and I was procrastinating on a job application for work. At the same time, I had decided that we needed more storage in the bathroom. I bought a couple of kit shelving sets, the ones with two vertical bars screwed into the wall with shelf supports attached via slots in the bars. All I had to do was attach the bars to the walls. Easy...

Short version of the story, after two different types of attachments and a day and a half of frustration at what should have been a short, simple task, I ended up taking to my bathroom wall with a hammer. The hole in the picture, above, is the result. Why is this important? Well, I don't consider myself to be the sort of person who "loses it", and certainly not in a violent way. This was out of character for me, and it concerned me that if I could resort to a violent non-solution to a simple set of shelves, what else could I be capable of?

So I'm publishing this little picture to my blog, to remind myself that sometimes, when you're tired and stressed, it's better to simply put the tools down and walk away. I don't want to end up swinging a hammer or anything else at something that isn't so easy to fix...

Well, the Wife has been doing all these online "What sort of [Insert Thing Here] are you", as have I. The latest one we've stumbled across is the "What sort of D&D Character are you?"

Turns out that I'm a:


Go figure! I wasn't expecting Bard at all, although I suspect that this is because Bards tend to be jack-of-all-trades, and I don't think I really committed to a particular problem solving approach. For the record, my details were:

Alignment:
Lawful Good ----- XX (2)
Neutral Good ---- XXXXXX (6)
Chaotic Good ---- XXXXXXXX (8)
Lawful Neutral -- XX (2)
True Neutral ---- XXXXXXX (7)
Chaotic Neutral - XXXX (4)
Lawful Evil ----- (-2)
Neutral Evil ---- (-1)
Chaotic Evil ---- (-3)

Race:
Human ---- (0)
Half-Elf - XX (2)
Elf ------ XXXXXXXX (8)
Halfling - (-4)
Dwarf ---- XXXXXX (6)
Half-Orc - X (1)
Gnome ---- XXXXXXX (7)

Class:
Fighter - X (1)
Ranger -- XXXXXX (6)
Paladin - (-1)
Cleric -- (-3)
Mage ---- XX (2)
Druid --- XXX (3)
Thief --- XX (2)
Bard ---- XXXXXXX (7)
Monk ---- (-1)

...this time from the ABC. I'm sitting here at 3AM on Monday morning, having just gotten up to feed my hungry, hungry daughter. The TV is on to feed my sleep-deprived and otherwise vacuous brain whilst bub drains her bottle.

First, we watch the end of some appalling "Carry On" film. Dreadful. Then the sober announcer comes on and tells us the next film is rated M and contains "Some Violence". Hmmmm... should be good...

Turns out it's "Floods of Fear" - a story of what happens when the "Great Thaw" floods the Humboldt valley. It's great - escaped convicts, swquabbling city officials, flooded houses, panic in the streets... just like New Orleans, although I don't think there's anyone shooting at choppers.

Just thought I'd mention this to y'all given how outraged HarrangeMan was at Prime's programming efforts. I'm going to bed.

Just thought I'd take this opportunity to say a couple of thankyous. We're now just past 3 weeks with the new bub, and there's a few folks out there that have been, well, lifesavers. I present them in no particular order.

Mum and Dad - pretty self-explanatory, really. Especial thanks to mum for being so thoroughly delighted with helping me hang out baby clothes, and to dad for having predicted a girl all along (although you did originally say triplets - glad you didn't get that one right!).

Rowena - you've been an absolute tower of strength, helping the Wife get through all the breastfeeding issues. No-one could have asked for a better sister-in-law. Good choice, Steve...

Hiraethin and Faeriefyre - what more can I say? Hiraethin has been like a brother to me for nigh on twenty years, long before this new-fangled interweb-thing, and Faeriefyre seems to be truly the universal source of love and affection. Fantastic home-cooked meals, Krispy Kreme doughnuts (mmmmm doughnuts...) and not batting an eyelid when we say we need a bit of space.

Fads and Son - best cross-the-road neighbours anyone could ask for. Fads is helping me deal with my "Humility Hole" (Post to follow) and Son is just an angel with massages and a sympathetic ear for the Wife. Love you guys to bits!

Of course, absolutely everyone whom we have crossed paths with since the bub was born has been fabulous and supportive. These folks above just stand out. You're all great...

Thanx again to Hiraethin - there are a million (well, 25) different possible results from this quiz, and I personally think that it is entirely, utterly accurate.

Take the quiz: "Which Holy Grail Character Are You?"

The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog
That's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on!

Well, it might not be a premonition so much as a warning, but I came across this link whilst surfing today. Seems that National Geographic had run a feature article in October 2004 that talked of the dangers and likelihood of New Orleans getting flooded by a hurricane. It predicted water as deep as 8 metres in places, and a death toll of about 50,000. Will Katrina reach this figure? We'll have to wait and see...

National Geographic Article

I am still dumbfounded at the appalling response from the US government to this disaster, especially given that they had several days warning and information like the article, above. I am also stunned at how fragile civilisation is - it took maybe a day for New Orleans to descend into the worst sort of anarchy.

Could Australia deal with a similar disaster any better? I don't know.

Ok, so Hiraethin did this little test on being a leading man. Of course, I had to go do it too - would you believe it, turns out I'm...

Jimmy Stewart You scored 11% Tough, 9% Roguish, 52% Friendly, and 28% Charming!

You are the fun and friendly boy next door, the classic nice guy who still manages to get the girl most of the time. You're every nice girl's dreamboat, open and kind, nutty and charming, even a little mischievous at times, but always a real stand up guy. You're dependable and forthright, and women are drawn to your reliability, even as they're dazzled by your sense of adventure and fun. You try to be tough when you need to be, and will gladly stand up for any damsel in distress, but you'd rather catch a girl with a little bit of flair. Your leading ladies include Jean Arthur and Donna Reed, those sweet girl-next-door types. Find out what kind of classic dame you'd make by taking the Classic Dames Test.

Sleep is something that is near and dear to me. I love it.

However, since the arrival of my little "Bundle of Joy" two weeks ago, sleep has been more than a little elusive. It's not that the Wife and I haven't been getting sleep - far from it. I reckon we're still getting a solid 7-8 hours a night, which isn't too bad. Problem is, the bub wants feeding every 2-4 hours, so that sleep we get is in broken blocks. I'm sure we'll get used to it - won't we???

Anyhoo, I recall seeing an article a couple of weeks ago on sleep, and thought I'd share it. Enjoy!