Thoughts from a Two Month Old’s Dad

Ok, so StarGirl’s almost three months old and this column is about three weeks late, but one of the lesson’s learned this month is how ever little free time you think you’ll have, divide it by at least half and you’ll have a number that’s still wrong, but closer to the post-baby-reality. You Say It’s … Read more

Why I Switched to the Mac

It’s official. I’ve switched to the Mac. Long-time readers will know that I bought an Apple laptop – an iBook – a few years ago, but I’ve continued to use a Windows desktop machine at home. That machine was getting more than a little long in the tooth though, and it was time for a … Read more

XYZZY Forever!

It’s funny how aspects of your past can come streaking through your present, unannounced and unbidden, but appreciated all the same. I subscribe to a newsletter called WebWord, which deals with Web site usability issues. The most recent edition included a link to a copy of Infocom’s classic Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy text-based RPG, … Read more

A Night of Abject Terror (or StarGirl goes to the Pediatric ICU)

First off, everyone’s ok — StarGirl’s fine, Sue’s fine and I’m fine. Or at least, we’re mostly fine.

I got a call at 3:30 Monday from Sue, who was in hysterics and was on her way to St. Luke’s in Bethlehem. Seems that StarGirl had turned absolutely white — no color in her lips or her extremities, and scared the crap out of Sue. She called our pediatrician, who told her to take her to the hospital immediately.

When I got there an hour and a half later, Sue and StarGirl had been admitted, and they were running different tests on the baby. Mostly they were trying to pin down her heart rate, which seemed high. Well, one EKG later, and they knew that it *was* high. Way too high. Her normal heart rate should be around 140-160, something like that. Hers was twice that — it was running around 250 to 280, with spikes to an absolutely horrifying 300.

The cardiac pediatrician was concerned — heck everyone was concerned — and they spent an hour or two trying to get an IV started so they could give her medication to bring the heart rate down. When they couldn’t get it started — and when other techniques failed to keep the heart rate down — they Medevac’d her to Lehigh Valley Hospital, which has a pediatric intensive care unit. That’s right. A freaking helicopter.

Apple’s Fledgling Music Service Rocks

I never got into the whole song-stealing thing. I say “stealing” rather than “trading” because despite all the rationalizations, that’s exactly what it was and is: stealing. In the beginning, there might have been some folks who were sampling music or doing the modern day equivalent of dubbing a friends CD on to tape. But … Read more

Thoughts on Fatherhood from a One Month-Old’s Dad

StarGirl turned one month old yesterday, which is a fact I find absolutely astounding. It really doesn’t seem like it’s been a month already, and at the same time, it seems like StarGirl’s always been here. Regardless of perspective though, a month has passed and we’ve learned a lot over the last few weeks. Baby’s … Read more