new machine

I bought a new machine several weeks ago, and am just now getting around to posting the specs. This is the first machine where I was basically able to get what I wanted. If I could go back I would have upgraded to the 19 in. monitor but oh well.

Intel Pentium 4 (3.2GHz) w/HT Technology and 1MB cache
1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz
17 in (17 in viewable) E173FPB Flat Panel Display
256MB Nvidia GeForce 6800 Graphics Card
80GB Hard Drive 
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
48x CD-RW and 16X DVD+/-RW

To go with the new machine, I have a cable internet connection and am running a wireless network. I am so glad to be off of dialup. I think I was the last of my friends to leave the ol? 56k modem. I think it will be good for Leslie also. She use to not be able to check her e-mail very often because by the time she got the old windows 98 machine booted and logged on, she would have to getup to take care of John David. Then, by the time she got back to it she would have lost the connection.

By the way Leslie made a post or two about the birth of Elliot. Go check them out.

Lupi's fun

lupi's fun

Leslie?s Dad and Step Mom were in town for a belated Christmas and to see John David and Elliot for the last two days. Tonight Leslie, John David, Elliot, Grandma & Grandpa Losch, Lindsey, and I went to Lopi?s for dinner. It was the first time Leslie and Elliot were out for the fun of it. You can?t really see Elliot in this picture because he is all wrapped up tight in the sling.

similarities anyone?

john david

elliot

christmas picts

elliot

elliot and mommy on christmas morning

John David and his trucks

Well I should go get a haircut... later...

elliot james

Going up the elevator at the hospital.
Leslie was too into a contraction
to realize that I took this picture.

A new little gid entered the world at 11:51 last night.

The whole labor was much different this time. The contractions started getting very regular last night after five o?clock and by 8:45 I realized that Leslie was getting serious. By 9:30 I new we had to get to the hospital. I felt like she was going to start pushing if we did not get a move on. At 10:00 we were in the car headed for the hospital. On the way there I kept thinking of our Bradley instructor Stephanie?s story about having the baby in the car at the hospital. Luckily that did not happen. We got to the hospital at around 10:30 and found out that she was already 8 centimeters. Leslie and I both breathed a big sigh of relief because with John David we went to the hospital after 10 hours of labor only to be sent home because she was only 2 centimeters.

The first picture of Elliot

Well, by the time they got Leslie to the room and I ran down to the car to get her night gown it was close to 11:00, and at 11:51 it was all over with. When Leslie finally started pushing it only took three pushes for Elliot James Gidcumb to be born.

Here are a few stats:
Name: Elliot James
Weight: 8 lbs 5 oz
Birth Date: 12-18-04
Birth Time: 11:51 pm
Length: 20.5 inches

Leslie?s mom had to leave this morning so I am home with John David letting him get a nap. Once he is up we will head back down to the hospital.

Leslie eating breakfast with Elliot.

It is a very nice day. I am looking out my office window at the snow coming down. It is just flurries but beautiful none the less. I tried to get some pictures but it was coming down so fast that the small flakes did not show up.

the baby

Well, it looks like Leslie is finally in labor, which is a good thing because Leslie?s mom is suppose to leave tomorrow and it would sure be nice to have her around to watch John David while the birth takes place. I know some people like having their kids in the delivery room with them, but we think when Leslie gets around to pushing it would be just a little to much for him.

Leslie thinks she started having small irregular contractions around 11:00 this morning. Right now she and John David are trying to get a nap before things progress any further. So far she is glad because the contractions are not in her back like they were with John David. Also, with John David every contraction was extremely painful and these have not been so far.

If any one thinks of praying for Leslie and the baby we would appreciate it!

google zeitgeist

I ran across this guys blog here and he had a link to this Google page here. Very cool. You can go back to 2001. I noticed that firefox was number 9 under the most popular queries in November.

It is funny how much the word Zeitgeist has become a part of my vocabulary over the last year or two. I guess I have only used the word in theological conversations, but now google is using it so it must be cool.

we are still waiting

Well, no baby yet. Leslie and I never thought that we would be having a Christmas baby. The due date they had calculated for her was December 3rd. The ultrasound date was December 9th. Neither of us thought we would have made it to the 15th! Leslie finally got around to opening up her Bradley book last night. We just did a quick review. We just never got around to all the relaxation techniques like we should have, but I think she will be fine.

Phase 1 of the house is done. All we have left is to do some unpacking. We even have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree up :). We ended up buying it a few days ago at Food Lion. We tried to by it at Low?s, Home Depot, and a place on the side of the road, but the trees they had left were either over 70 bucks or really ugly. If I weren?t so adverse to running down the stairs I would go take a picture of it.

Oh yea, I finally got a cable internet connection and a new machine. It took me a while to set up the wireless connection but it works well. I still need to set up the old computer downstairs. As I type I am sitting in between 10 or so boxes that need to be unpacked. I hope I actually get to them today. Well see....

way to go Reuters

It really says something about Reuters when they post this story under two sections. The Oddly Enough section and theHealth section.

I think they must be bigots. This, in my opinion can only point to their intellectual arrogance, which is in effect saying "Those poor uneducated Africans. How foolish they are for abstaining from sex. Don?t they know that sex is good, and healthy. Even the World Health Organization says to use condoms. "

Way to go Reuters for mocking people who are trying to stand up for something good. You know, this really ticks me off.

firefox stuff

about: shows info on Firefox's version number, copyright, etc.;
about:config reveals the Configuration Console, a repository
 brimming over with scores of customizable settings;
about:cache displays a summary of both 
your memory and file cache,
 with a link to full file listings;
about:buildconfig lists the compiler options that were used to
 create your version of Firefox (and,
 since it's open source, anyone can
 compile a customized version); 
about:plugins enumerates your installed add-ons,
 which can be quite numerous since Firefox
 is designed to be modular and extensible; and
about:credits is an "Easter egg" that includes the names of hundreds 
of developers and testers who worked on the product.

"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" /Prefetch:1

waiting for the baby

Leslie went to see the midwife this morning and everything still looks good. Our midwife is going to be out of town until late on Sunday so we are hoping that this little one will wait. We just don?t want to have to deal with a MD who has no real understanding that a birth is different from a tooth extraction. You can take a look at the statistics for the US Cesarean Statistics here. Please don?t get me wrong at times a cesarean is needed all I am saying is that if we can have this baby with a midwife the chances are going to be much better for Leslie to have a natural birth.

She told me this morning that she is starting to get nervous. During the last birth, which was 24 hours, she had all back labor, and she desperately hopes that this labor is short and that the labor pain is not in her back. Everything we have read says that back labor is the worst. Here is a link to back labor info. It?s not a very good one, but here it is anyway (click).

Well I will try to keep y?all updated. Though, the next little while should be busy.

snow focused blog

I really like this guy?s blog. Most people who know me know that I love snow. And if I was Gollum I would refer to snow something like this: ?My preciousss, I lovess feetsss of my precioussss, I lovesss it?. Here is old Chattanooga we get very little snow, so this site fills a need that I have in my life.

One of the major things I like about his blog is that he posts pictures and links to web cams throughout Europe. The last two days he has had webcam pictures from Austria and Finland. I have never visited Finland, but sure hope to someday. If you like snow then check out his blog here.

Also if you know of any good snow related blogs, then leave me a link.

update

eat'en his O's

Leslie is still with child. Her due date was on Friday the 3rd, and like with John David the due date has come and gone. She is doing very well. Leslie, Konrad and I spent the weekend at work on the house. Everything is finally coming together. I figure if I had another 40 or so hours to work on the house I could have everything we wanted done, done before the baby came.

Well, below is what is left on the list. It does not sound like there is much left and there isn?t, but there is a lot of trim in that foyer, which has to be painted in oil.

• Finish painting our bathroom cabinet doors
• The kitchen cabinet doors(90% done)
• The guest bath cabinets and doors
• Paint the den
• Paint the living room
• Paint the foyer(50% done)
• Wallpaper the dinning room(out of scope for phase I)
• Paint the newly installed Freedom French doors between the living room and den(66% done)
• Paint the master bath(33% done)
• Put down a 100 or more feet of shoe molding
• Paint the porch rails that dad put up(out of scope for phase I)
• Clean the gutters(out of scope for phase I)
• Rake all the leaves in the yard(0% done)
• Mow the yard(0% done)

On Saturday night we called it quits around 8 o?clock and decided to rent a movie. We ended up getting The Terminal<>. It was pretty good. There were a few scenes that were funny. The last half hour of the movie just about lost me in boredom, but the rest was pretty good. Leslie thought the movie was too unbelievable for her to really get into. I think Konrad liked it, though I forgot to ask.

To the right is a picture of John David eating his O?s for breakfast.

it just makes me sick II

it just makes me sick I

out of the ordinary

When he got to wherever he was going when he died he was explaining to those present what had happened. I think it probably went something like this:
Man, you will never believe what happened to me. I was in my trailer playing with my lava lamp but the bubbles just where not moving fast enough for me, so I put it on my stove and turned the heat way up. It was really awesome. The bubbles were moving really fast. Like it was so cool, but it was really hot, right. And before I new it, boom! And like I had glass in my heart. Strange who would have thought!