Joseph's Story (July - August 2005)

Joseph's Story
As written by me in July & August of 2005

This page is dedicated to my son, Joseph Edward Lowry III. It was always my intention to make a page where I could keep track of his growth. I never anticipated that he would have such an exciting beginning. Some people might look at what I've written and wonder how I could have written so much. To be honest, I didn't do it for you. I wanted to have a record of everything that had happened to Joseph, for his benefit and mine. I do hope that it is of interest and provides perspective on what has been a very tumultuous little life.
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Joseph was born on July 27, 2005 at North Florida Regional Medical Center. He weighed 9 lbs and was 22 inches long. Lacy was incredible during the labor and delivery, and we were overcome when our son finally arrived. The photo above was taken by my mom just seconds after Little Joey was born.
Unfortunately, it became apparent that his color was not right. Most babies have a bluish appearance when they are born. This rapidly changes when the lungs inflate and oxygen-rich blood goes through the body giving it a nice pink color. J-III did not turn that pink color so they took him to test his lungs. After a moment of examination at Lacy's bedside they decided to take him to the nursery to examine him more closely. I followed him there as they looked him over. After a moment they asked me to leave so that they could intubate him, or put a tube down his throat to help him get more oxygen. I left the room as they started not really knowing what it all meant.
We waited for a few minutes, expecting that all would surely be well and they would bring him back to our room. After a time our nurse midwife Ann Marie Fenn, OB-GYN Anthony Agrios, and pediatrician Marci Slayton walked in to discuss what was going on with Joey. At that point we were told that the level of oxygen that he was receiving was not sufficient and that our sick little boy would need to be transported to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida very soon. Needless to say, we were both shocked. Thus continued a very long day.
We were told that there were at least two possible causes for his condition- a diaphragmatic hernia or a heart defect. I think we were both still in shock, and it took some time for me to understand what all of that meant. I should take the time to point out that everything in this pregnancy had been wonderful, from Lacy's health to the entire labor and delivery up to that point. The occurrence of his condition only further highlighted some of the other things that went right.
That day a neonatologist from Shands was on his normal visit to North Florida and he was able to see Joseph right away. He prescribed a drug that improved Joey's oxygen levels, so that he was a pale white color, rather than the unusual blue. Dr. Morse (the neonatologist) referred him to Shands very soon, and the helicopter was able to take him there within 1 1/2 hours after birth. All of these things were a blessing for us, in the midst of a very scary time. All of the staff at North Florida were fantastic, and attended to Lacy and me with so much compassion and concern. Additionally, two of Lacy's friends from her time working as a diabetes research assistant, Jen and Liz, were there to care for her when I went to Shands to see to Joseph. There were so many people there who had a part in her recovery. Our hearts are full of gratitude for them.
As much as any of these occurrences, faith played a major role in our ability to cope with what was going on. Before he was taken to Shands from North Florida, my father and I had time to give him a priesthood blessing. It was difficult for me to put my hands on his little head and then focus on what Heavenly Father had in mind for this little guy. I felt very peaceful and knew that Heavenly Father would watch over him and those taking care of him. That peaceful feeling has been with me since that time, and I know that he is being watched over by Heavenly Father.
Joseph arrived at Shands that morning and was immediately subjected to a whole series of tests. They diagnosed him with a defect called Transposition of the Great Arteries. This page from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital explains the nature of this defect. If left uncorrected, it is usually a fatal defect. Fortunately, the doctors at Shands Hospital, specifically Dr. Paolillo with the help of others, performed a heart catheterization procedure called a septostomy. This procedure widens an existing space between the left and right ventricles of the heart to allow mixing of oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood. This allowed his oxygen saturation levels to improve so that the major surgery is no longer considered an emergency. Now it was time to determine where it should be performed.
Surgery on congenital heart defects is a highly specialized field. After consulting with one of the cardiologists at Shands we agreed that Miami Children's Hospital provided the best mix of expert surgeons and convenience for us, owing to my family presence there. After they contacted the hospital in Miami, they were told that they would come pick him up by jet that day (Thursday, July 28th). We waited at Shands until they took him, planning to follow him the next day. We arrived in Miami in time to visit Joey before going to my Uncle & Aunt's house, Ari & Kelly Sastre for some much needed rest after a long day. Joseph was stable, and we felt good about the people caring for him.
Today is Sunday, July 31st. Joseph continues to be stable, and we await his surgery, scheduled for Tuesday, August 2nd. The surgery is called an arterial switch. The surgeon will take the aorta and the pulmonary artery and switch them. This is the easy part of the procedure. The more delicate part of the surgery is moving the coronary arteries to the right place. All of Joseph's blood vessels are small, but the coronary arteries are very small. We feel very fortunate that our surgeon is highly skilled and very experienced. Additionally, Transposition is a common defect, and he has a lot of experience repairing this kind of condition. I will update this page with news on his condition as I can.
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Monday passed without incident. Sunday night was especially nice, because the nurse asked us if we wanted to give Joseph a bath. I changed his diaper for the first time. We went home tired, happy to have been able to participate in his care in a more meaningful way. Monday we met with Cristi, a nurse practitioner in the practice of Dr. Redmond Burke, the surgeon who would be performing the procedure. She explained what we should expect to occur. I'll provide a run-down of the procedure as I understand it:
Joseph is taken from the ICU by several nurses and the anesthesiologist to the operating room, where he will be connected to all the necessary machines. He is sedated and prepared for the surgery to begin.
A person known as the profusionist prepares the heart-lung bypass machine. In order for this to work properly, they have to reroute the blood away from the heart and lungs. Because blood wants to clot when it leaves the body, they must use blood thinners to keep it flowing. This allows the doctor to stop the heart so that the procedure can be performed.
The doctor can now begin the surgery, severing the aorta and pulmonary artery above the heart valves. The arteries are then switched, reattached with hundreds of tiny stitches.
Perhaps the most difficult part of the surgery comes next, where the coronary arteries are moved. The coronary arteries supply blood and oxygen to the heart muscle. These too must be reattached to insure that the heart gets nourishment. These are very small in an adult, and tiny in a child. Once again, much precision and many, many stitches are required.
Some time after the above procedure, he is removed from the bypass machine (hopefully) so that normal blood flow can be restored to the heart. This will allow the doctor to see that the heart is pumping normally and that there are no leaks in any of the valves.
At this point, his chest may or may not be closed, and the amount of time on the ventilator will vary. We are hopeful that he will be able to go home in about 2 weeks. During that 2 weeks many things will occur, and I will keep a record of that here.
The highlight of Monday occurred about 6:30pm. Our nurse at the time, Luisa, told Lacy that she should go to the bathroom because if she was going to hold the baby, she wouldn't be able to get up. Needless to say, this overjoyed her as she has been unable to hold him since the birth. When he was placed on her after being born, there was so much commotion that this constituted the first real time she has had to hold him in her arms. It was very emotional for both of us (I was fairly jealous) and he was calm and seemed so happy to be in his mom's arms. I gave him a father's blessing while he was there. She held him for almost an hour before it was time for us to go back to Ari & Kelly's house for dinner and sleep. Tuesday would be a long day.
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We got to the hospital this morning (Tuesday, August 2nd) at about 6:45am. Joseph looked very peaceful, and had a good night's rest according to Susie, his nurse. We had a few moments with him, snapped a few photos, and waited for Dr. Burke. He arrived and had a very reassuring manner. He explained a few things, and assured us that he would be gentle and do his best for Joey. We asked him if we could have a prayer with him, and he agreed. We accompanied Joseph to the opening of the operating room and returned to wait. At 9:30 we got an update that he was on the bypass machine and that we would hear from them again at 11am. We are calmer than expected, and have faith that Heavenly Father will hear our prayers and watch over our son.
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As we sat talking at about 12:30, Linda (another Nurse Practitioner from Dr. Burke's practice) came in to tell us that the surgery was completed and that they were able to seal his chest. This was great news, and seemed earlier than expected. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Burke came in to discuss the surgery, showed us some pictures of his tiny heart, and told us that Joseph would be out shortly. He came out and the change in his color was astounding. He almost looked like a different baby. We are so grateful, and know that the fasting and many prayers on his behalf were instrumental during this time.
We just went in to see him (2pm). The past six days made us accustomed to the sight of his little body and all the different tubes that helped him gain strength. As you can imagine, the number of tubes in his body post-operation seem to have multiplied. It still fills us with some apprehension to see him like that, but the peace that I've felt since shortly after we learned of his condition continues. We sat in his room for a while and watch him enjoy heavily sedated slumber. Very tired, we returned to the house to get some rest.
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We went to the hospital today and were excited to hear that they were going to extubate him. We did not expect this for at least another day, so it was a real relief to be able to look at his face. His swelling improved as well. The most difficult part of the post-surgery period is the waiting. It may yet be several weeks before we can take him home, so in the mean time we wait as various tubes are removed day by day. We see more and more of his personality (he has blue eyes) and feel a little bit more like real parents. He is a beautiful little boy, and I feel so grateful for his good recovery. Even Dr. Burke, the surgeon, mentioned today that he is a strong baby and having a very fast recovery. I just need to be patient and trust that all will continue to go well. Once again, Lacy and I discuss how blessed we are.
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Two days have passed since the surgery and Joseph's progress is exceptional. I came to the hospital this morning to see how he was doing and Dr. Bolivar, one of the cardiologists, mentioned that Joseph's progress was "amazing." He also added that he was on pace for one of the fastest recoveries they have ever had. The only concern was a collapsed lung that they optimistic about. It seems to be normal for someone who has been on a heart-lung machine and who has all of the accompanying secretions. This will probably take some time to pass.
Today was markedly better than yesterday. It is hard to watch him there, and today was so much more interactive. I got to hold him for the first time, and Lacy was able to feed him some breastmilk. His stomach was able to keep it all down without a problem, and so we are hopeful that they will be able to shift him to 100% breastmilk within a short period of time.
We also continue to be impressed with the breadth and quantity of prayers offered for Joseph. We received a nice teddy bear and some ballons from Investacorp, the Broker-Dealer with whom I am a registered securities representative. My father spoke with the CEO Bruce Swiegart, a very nice man, and he mentioned that some individuals confessed that while not normally inclined to pray, they felt impressed to pray for Joseph. He has been prayed for by Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, and Jews in Churches, Chapels, and Temples. His welfare has been the source of fasting and pleading. All of this for one small child, my child. It overcomes me to think of it, and fills me with gratitude. My own life has been so free of trials. The outpouring of love on his behalf is a source of strength and promotes my own faith.
All of this makes me think of the man who pleaded for healing from the Savior. He said, "I believe...Help thou mine unbelief." This was my prayer for my son, and the Lord has answered it and continues to answer it. This great blessing is not without price, for the responsibility it places on Lacy and me is to teach him to love and serve God and his fellow man. This means that our own lives must be consistent with that goal. Sometimes these kinds of prayers are not answered the way that we want them to be. Lacy and I feel very fortunate that ours was answered in the desired way, and we feel like something is expected of us as a result.
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August 5th- my birthday. I have everything that I could want- a loving wife and a healthy (and improving) son. I have seen the power of faith manifest in the life of my son, and that gift will last much longer than the other things I might hope for. I am also impressed by how blessed we are with regard to Joseph's heart condition being limited in scope. Many of the infants here in the Cardiac ICU are very small or have multiple significant defects. We can anticipate no further surgeries and a normal life for Joey. That is another gift.
I ran to the hospital to deliver some breastmilk and then Lacy's mom, my mom, Lacy and I went to the Gables Diner for a big birthday breakfast. Since then we've spent a great day with Joseph ( I fed him for the first time). Soon we will be heading back to Ari & Kelly's for some birthday pizza, and then perhaps back to the hospital tonight. Lacy's mom heads back to California tomorrow, and it has been wonderful having both of our moms here to see us and the baby. We will miss her when she leaves.
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I had a great little birthday party, a surprise by Kelly & Ari, and we had a nice night with everyone, which included missing our little guy. August 6th was a nice day as well, as Joseph's condition continued to improve. He had been eating expressed breastmilk from the bottle for the past two days, and they told us that Lacy could try to breastfeed him directly. Immediately he latched on to Lacy, and although the duration of the feeding was not all that long, it was promising. By the end of the day she had nursed several times and he seemed to be a natural. We went home pretty happy, but it gets harder to leave him each day.
I spoke to a father whose daughter has the same condition. She has not yet received the arterial switch operation, and I could see on the father's face the same look that I must have had. Even having passed through the same situation, I find it hard to put myself back in his shoes, so different do I feel today. Additionally, the complexity of these procedures is such that I could hardly promise him anything based on our experience. I do have great confidence in the Dr. Burke, and I told him as much. Even giving all due credit to Dr. Burke's prowess, I have to attribute a lot of Joey's success to Heavenly Father.
As if to further punctuate this, J-III was moved out of the ICU to what they call "The Floor." We share a room with a young kid named Joe (so at one point there were 4 Joe's in one room) and he is nice and keeps the volume down. We were surprised to be moving from the ICU so soon. They told us that Joe was just too healthy for the ICU. One step closer to going home. This also means that we are responsible for more of his care, and that Lacy can stay here overnight to nurse him. We are not happy about the separation and are even more eager to get home. Of course our concern from Joseph outweighs this desire, but I do think that we will be home by next Friday at the latest. That would be fantastic.
Some of you may noticed that I refer to Joseph by several different names (Joseph, Joey, J-III). The reason is that we still haven't figured out what to call him. I like J-III for fun. Its like his street name, or rap name. I know that some in the family like Lacy's sister Lillie like Joey for him. Lacy has yet to weigh in with her firm choice. Maybe when we get home this decision will fall into place for us.
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Sunday was our first night in a regular room and it was a long, tiring night. We quickly realized how pampered we were in the ICU with regard to the amount of nursing care that he received. We are grateful to have him close to us though, and look forward to having him home for good. Monday was a lot of sitting, with some errands thrown in, as we waited for Joseph's progress. By Monday night he was free of any oxygen tubes of any kind and had a much better night (or at least, I had a much better night). Monday morning the doctor mentioned that he would like for us to be able to leave in a few days. We didn't know exactly what that meant.
When the doctors came by for rounds Tuesday morning, we were so close to being discharged. They elected to keep him in the hospital for one more day, just to check on his chest congestion. The day has passed without incident, and as I type this at 10:49 on Tuesday August 9th, it is with confidence that Wednesday is a day of liberation for all of us, and only 8 days after surgery. I keep looking around for Joseph's gold medal, but I guess they don't actually have anything like that. We are so glad to be going home. We have developed a pattern here that is workable, but the idea of going home is the utopian ideal.
I feel like I should reiterate how fortunate we have been at every step of the way. Everyone we have interacted with has been wonderful, within the hospitals and without. Things like this bring out the goodness in all of us. I can honestly say I am grateful for trials.
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It is now the evening of August 14th and we have been home for several days. The routine of being a "normal" parent is decidedly lacking in routine. There have been a few sleepless nights, for Lacy mostly, and a few days where it seemed like all the little guy wanted to do was eat (another thing that has affected Lacy primarily). Still, for all these minor inconveniences, we are so glad to be home. After all, it will take some time for Joey to establish the behaviors that he was unable to learn over the time that he was in the hospital.
I went to Church today and I felt overwhelming gratitude, for God, family, and friends. My heart was full, and it was hard to keep all my feelings in check. I don't think I could describe them in a way that makes any sense, but they were there and in full effect. I know that the trials of parenthood will be many and varied, but Lacy and I have established the foundation upon which to build our future. We're so fortunate that Joseph will be a part of that.

My Kids (August 2005 - March 2007)

When I was wondering what to name this page, I realized that Joseph really is the Son of the Spanish Phrase of the Day. When I first met Lacy, I had only been writing the SPOTD for a few months. Her then-roommate, Cara Larson, was a recipient and this allowed me to get Lacy's e-mail address under the guise of adding her to the list. This led to regular correspondence, then a relationship, and finally, almost 3 years after our first meeting, to the birth of Joseph Edward Lowry III, the son of SPOTD.

17 March 2007
It's hard for me to imagine an age that is as much fun as Joseph's right now. At the same time it is a difficult age, but the speed of his development is amazing. He says new things all the time. He gets excited by it too.
I've added some new photos. In the first new one Joseph is walking in the woodsy part of my parent's backyard. In the second he and Nicole are having a "hwisy ride" as Joseph likes to say. The bottom left photo is Joseph enjoyed some of Lacy's salad (he'll eat almost anything). In the middle is Joseph with a phone (he loves the phone) and in the last he is enjoying some toast (who doesn't?).
I guess kids start to learn when things are funny, and even try a little comedy. Joseph does some funny things and especially likes to wrestle around, throw the ball, and build with his blocks. He looked at Lacy's belly today and called it a ball. We both got a kick out of that. It will be interesting to see how he is around his sister.


24 February 2007
I had one of those moments the other day. I was walking with Joseph to the playground near our house and I looked at this funny litle kid of mine and thought, "This is my son." It is a little surreal to think about having a child, raising a child, and everything that goes along with that. The time passes so fast. He is such a little sponge, sometimes he learns things that we don't even realize he is learning.


17 February 2007
We're having a lot of fun with Joseph. His new thing is singing. I've shown that in the video below. We wrestle a lot and he loves to be thrown around, especially on our bed. We are excited to move into our new house soon. We don't have much of a yard right now in our townhome and the new place will have a much larger space. Joseph is fun, sometimes a little crazy, but we wouldn't have it any other way.
He's learning to share and is a great eater. He chows down on every kind of fruit, loves bananas more than anything, and continues his obsession with The Wiggles. I can now sing most of the Wiggle songs from memory, but there are worse afflictions.

Lacy is closer and closer to the arrival of Lowry Baby Girl. No name yet, and we are keeping it a secret when we do come up with it, much to the consternation of the family. We are excited to have a little girl in our home. Joseph should be a good older brother.
14 January 2007
I made this little video of Joseph dancing and playing the other night. In the first part he is dancing to the Wiggles and even tries to stand on one foot. It's the first time that we realized that he knows the motions to the song. In the second one he is trying to catch up with the video camera, which leads to a Hollywood style chase in the living room.

12 January 2007
We had a great trip to San Diego and had a ton of fun with Lacy's family. I've included a few pictures from the trip above. Lacy's sister has also posted some great pictures on her blog.
Joseph is learning so fast. I plan to put together a little video that I took today of him dancing and chasing the camera. He is so smart (of course) and communicating just gets easier and easier. He loves to play and building has started to replace destroying as the game of choice. All in all good news.


15 December 2006
I've been a slacker lately, but much has happened. Joseph continues to get bigger and understand more and more. Among his favorite words are milk, Wiggles, and yeah. It is so much fun to be able to communicate with him more


20 October 2006
I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since I last wrote. Joseph has been adding new things at a rapid clip lately. He treats everything like a telephone, from acorns to wheat thins. He loves to hold things to his face and say his own version of "hello."


27 September 2006
Today marked Joseph's 14 month birthday. The time continues to fly by, and today was a special day for me as well because, for the first time, Joseph got really sad when I left for the office. He has never been all that clingy with me, but when he saw me going through my normal "get ready to leave" routine he came over and wanted me to hold him. I picked him up, gave him a kiss and put him down to leave and he followed me to the door where I could see him crying (really crying) as I walked away. It was a proud moment for me. Who'd have thought that seeing my son cry could make me so happy?
I've added a few photos above, with the most recent ones being of Joseph's recent trip to California with his mommy. You should also check out this little video that I put together.


7 September 2006
Joseph is walking everywhere now. He spends very little time crawling, almost none really, and enjoys climbing all over the furniture. As you can see from the picture above, he has taken to sitting in my favorite chair.
He continues to grow and develop at a normal pace, and his antics are a lot of fun. He talks more than ever, sleeps well at night, and loves to play and wrestle with us. He is a fun guy.


5 August 2006
Joseph turned one year old last week, the 27th. We were in California with Lacy's family and spent the day at the Beach, where Joseph enjoyed his first cupcake (see last picture above). It was a fun day. Today we had a small party with family and friends in Gainesville (my birthday is today) and it was also fun, though the heat kept he and his cousins a bit subdued.
It has been a wonderful year. Despite some of the issues related to Joseph's heart, being a father is something that is rewarding and well worth whatever effort is required. Joseph is walking frequently, talking all the time, and getting into EVERYTHING, but I'd rather have a spunky kid like him.


4 July 2006
Joseph is 11 months old and he is so close to walking. He has taken a few unassisted steps, and he can tell by our reaction how excited it makes us. As soon as his bottom hits the ground he is smiling and clapping. He is a pretty stubborn kid too, and teaching him to leave certain things alone is a bear.
Besides saying "Mama" or "Dada" we heard him say hello today as I was passing the phone to Lacy. We weren't sure if he actually said it, but a moment later he did it again. Pretty exciting stuff. He really loves going to the beach and going to the pool, which is a lot of fun for us. As you can see in the picture above, he got a little tricycle as a new toy and it is fun to see him push it around.


18 June 2006
My first Father's day was a good one. We woke up bright and early (Thanks Joseph) and left Naples where we were attending a conference. Being a dad continues to be pretty great. My life has changed a great deal since Joseph was born and I wouldn't have it any other day. It is a remarkable thing to hold him and see his growth.


4 June 2006
Being a dad is a wonderful experience. Joseph doesn't sleep as long as we'd like, but aside from that he is pretty much as easy a baby as we could hope for. Watching him develop is remarkable too. It seems like new things just come to him. The other day he lifted himself up and took his hands off of the bouncy seat to stand unassisted. It was only for a few moments, but Lacy and I saw and when he fell back to the ground we cheered and clapped. Now he understood this was a good thing and began doing it a lot. He is able to stand for longer periods of time, and I guess this a precursor to walking around.
Joseph's favorite song is Upside Down by Jack Johnson. Its from the Curious George soundtrack and we heartily recommend it. Every time it comes on he starts to bob his head or wave his hands. He's always liked music, but responds most consistently to that one. Needless to say, we play it a lot, especially when he is eating. By the way, when a baby eats, it is messy- ME-EH-SSY. I'm still getting used to this, including my probably-futile effort to have a 'clean feeding.' No doubt other parents will call me a dreamer.


23 May 2006
The news on Joseph is all good. He stands up all the time and we have become well acquainted with several kinds of gates to find the one that works in our house. It is not a perfect solution for his newfound tendency to get into EVERYTHING, but it will do.
We've taken him swimming and he really seems to like the water.


29 April 2006
Joseph got sick with some kind of stomach bug. It was no fun, but after a few days he seems back to normal and we enjoyed a really fun visit by Ross & Lillie Biesinger and their daughter Sophia. Lillie is Lacy's sister. Sophia is adorable and she and Joseph had fun getting to know each other. I have attached some pictures on this page for you to see.


20 April 2006
Joseph is crawling like a champ, loves to clap his hands together, and can pull himself onto his feet by using furniture. It is fun to see him grow and develop.
We visited the cardiologist a week ago and they are very pleased with his progress. He continues to have a murmur, probably due to the way they repositioned his arteries during surgery, but the volume of bloodflow is very good. I hadn't been to a cardiologist visit since right after we returned from the hospital, so it was a little bit surprising how it felt to be in a doctor's office talking about his condition. He is doing well.


29 March 2006
Joseph has now executed some successful crawls and weighs almost 20 lbs. One of his favorite things is (when he is in a good mood) to have someone say 'Da da da.' He will then repeat it, sometimes doing this funny thing where he holds his breath and turns red. Its really funny. I would like to be able to day that his 'Da da da' refers to me, his da-da-dy, but I think it is just a fun syllable for him.
We did the March of Dimes WalkAmerica last weekend and Joseph was great for the entire 8.6 miles. It took one mid-Walk feeding and 2 diaper changes, but we made it through. It was fun to see a lot of other families and babies. We were glad to participate.


5 March 2006
Joseph is doing great. He is on the verge on crawling, just got his first two teeth, is eating solid foods (pureed at least), graduated to a bigger car seat, and gets to be more and more fun. His heart is strong and the cardiologists have been very pleased with the outcome of his corrective surgery. He has a slight murmur, but it may not cause any significant trouble down the road.
I am going to put together some clips of the baby to post on the web. It will be fun to show him off to some of you that are far away. More on that to come.


4 December 2005
It has been a few weeks since I've written anything about Joseph. He is now 16 & 1/2 pounds and more than 26 inches long, placing him in the 90-something percentile for height and the 75th for weight. He is more interactive with his surroundings and can stand up quite well, though not balance- one thing at a time folks.
We saw some of the new babies in our Church congregation yesterday, and it is amazing to think that he was ever that small. Lacy and I are so glad to have him. We set up our Christmas tree and decorations last night and it is fun to know that we will share this Christmas with our little Joseph. He continues to smile all the time and was a great little traveler during our Thanksgiving trip to San Diego. He is generally sleeping better at night, despite being a bit restless these last few nights after having his second set of immunizations.


17 November 2005
Joey is over fifteen pounds and getting very strong.


7 November 2005
Joseph continues to develop. He makes all kinds of fun noises now really likes to play. I know that these kinds of things must sound mundane, but every day has new surprises and fun new developments. He is getting stronger in his legs as well (I work them out on occasion- he'll be walking in a week, I know it).
He still doesn't sleep for very long periods at night. We're not sure when this will change, and have tried a few different things to remedy it. I've put some new pics in. I hope you like them. Most of these were taken over the past week or so. He is now almost 3 1/2 months old now.


31 October 2005
Sorry to all of you other parents, but my kid is just about the cutest around. Check out the new pics.


18 October 2005
Joseph III is now over 14 pounds. We can really see his growth. I think I mention this everytime, but he smiles most of the time that he is awake. It tends to slow me down in the morning, because I can't really ignore him when he is looking at me. It is great to see how he develops.


7 Oct 2005
Joey gets cuter and cuter. We are still working on the sleep thing, but its not such a bad thing when you pick him up out of the crib and he is smiling at you before too long. He loves music and likes to play. I don't think we could ask for a better kid.
I added some pictures below of J-III with his little friend Hunter White. They're not really aware of each other yet, but putting them on the ground together was fun.


30 Sept 2005
Joey has decided that he would rather wake up every 2 or 3 hours to eat at night, rather than sleeping for 4 or 5. He seems to have picked up his parent's taste for food. I think it may be an issue with how we wrap him at night. He is a wiggler, so sometimes his blanket comes undone and he wakes up. Funny kid. He really is an easy baby otherwise, and we are in more of a parental rhythm now than ever.


23 Sept 2005
Time rolls on as Joseph is over 12 pounds now. He smiles even more and has started making some really cute noises. He had his shots this week and took it like a pro.


15 Sept 2005
Joseph is over 11 pounds now and doing great. His second follow-up with the cardiologist here in Gainesville was even better than the first and everything is looking well. Joseph is smiling a lot now, and is a lot of fun for us to interact with.


7 Sept 2005
Yesterday Lacy went to a New Mother's Lunch at the hospital where J-III was born. While she was there, she weighed him and he is a whopping 10 1/2 pounds. That's my boy!


29 August 2005
I got Joseph to stop crying and smile at my today. It was a major breakthrough in the "When will he be more interactive?" watch. Lacy and I are sure that he is very advanced (what parent doesn't?). He had his first trip to Church yesterday as well, and performed like a pro. He enjoys taking walks in the stroller as well, which makes it nice for Lacy and I.


24 August 2005
Joseph continues to grow, now over 9lbs 4 ounces, having gained almost a pound in a week. You wouldn't even know that he had open-heart surgery except for the scar. We continue to be delighted by everything that he does. He seems to be focusing more on objects that he sees, and we are hoping to see more smiles out of him- this is supposed to be the timeframe where that happens.


17 August 2005
Joseph had his three week birthday and is doing fantastic. Since being discharged from the hospital he has almost regained his birthweight. We went to the pediatrician and cardiologist on Monday. Both were very pleased with Joseph's progress. Not a bad thing when the only good news is good news.

My Kids (April-October 2007)

October 30, 2007
The kids keep on growing. It's really hard to break down months into a paragraph or two. Lacy has been blogging and provides some really funny stories. Joseph amuses us all the time with his endless energy and the stuff that he says. When he is finished eating he says "I feel much better." When we as him if he wants a particular food he sometimes says "No thank you." When he falls down playing soccer he gets up and says "I'm 'kay, I'm kay." He also says "Run Daddy! Run!" Sometimes I get home from work and asks, "Come play soccer with me Daddy!" It is a lot of fun.
Millie had her six month appointment today. She is over 27 inches, over 17 lbs and as sweet a little baby as I've ever seen. She laughs a lot, smiles even more and is sleeping every well most nights. It's dramatically easier in that department than it was with Joseph.
August 18, 2007
I can't believe this much time has passed since I've written here. A lot has happened. Joseph moved to a big bed and due to some special provisions is now sleeping very well at night. For about a week Millie has slept through the night. This is unreal for us, because Joseph took more than a year to sleep through the night, and it took a lot of work to get him there.
Millie is absolutely delightful. She smiles all the time, is getting so strong. She also laughs, likes to be on her stomach and has started sucking her thumb. At least for the time being it is adorable.
Joseph is growing up, in every way. Check out Lacy's blog for some great pictures- http://lacylowry.blogspot.com.

July 9, 2007
We have been in Marco Island enjoying the beach since the 1st. It has been a lot of fun to have Joseph at the beach with his cousins Nicole, Michelle, & Tison. We do the beach in shifts, as Millie is too small for our lovely summer weather. We built (and Joseph has destroyed) many sand castles. This morning Lacy is out with Joseph. He has settled into a nice little routine. Out around nine or ten, back for lunch, nap and then back out between 3 and 4. He loves to "fwim in da water." For him that means sitting on the steps, blowing bubbles, and screaming whenever I take him for a lap around the shallows. He is getting progressively more comfortable with the water, and with 21 days to go I think he may quit screaming before we leave.
Millie is as sweet as can be. She has an extremely mild temperament and smiles all the time. She is sleeping very well at night, last night from 10 to 5. Since we arrived at the beach Joseph has been sleeping on a full-size air mattress in our room. It has been an interesting challenge for him to transition from a crib. He has done fairly well, but it does make me miss the confines of the crib. 5:30 am has been my wake-up for the last few days.

June 23, 2007
Millie continues to grow. I'd forgotten how rapid the changes are when they are this small. She coos (sp?) all the time, and really likes to be spoken to. She shows a lot of interest in Joseph and he continues to be very sweet with her.
He learns new words every day. Did I already say he could count to ten? He can, and is quite enthusiastic about it. Then again, he's enthusiastic about everything.

June 11, 2007
We've had a very busy and very fun couple of weeks. Matt and Amber Nielsen were with us for the last week and we had a lot of fun. They have a five month old boy and it was great to have them around. I've put some pictures from the week in the photos section as well as up above. The big baby in the photo with Millie is Matt & Amber's son Carter. He was born to be a linebacker. The little girl in the picture with Joseph is Sahara Eichelberger. Her dad and I met freshman year at BYU, and they are here in Gainesville so he can attend law school.
Millie smiles all the time. She is really active, which is fun to see, but also reminds us of her brother, who doesn't know how to take a break. He is fun, but crazy. But I think crazy is a good thing for 22 month olds to be. He is doing this funny thing these days where he puts his index finger up to his mouth and says "Hmmm...I know!" and then he tells me what he knows. It is really cute. He's learning so much, so fast. He likes to sing along with the lullabyes, which is also fun.
Something funny- the other day I was changing Joseph's diaper outside of Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Que. He proceeded to pee in his own face! I felt bad for him, and quickly covered the source of urine, but couldn't help but laugh.

May 25, 2007
Millie is now 4 weeks old! The time is flying by. She has started smiling a little bit, and I definitely think it is more than gas. This past week we had some great pictures taken by our friend and photographer Lisa Emmerich. She also had her second child in April. Her oldest, Sasha, is just a day younger than Joseph. Millie is sleeping better, and her strength also seems to be increasing as she is also squirmier. She is at least 10lbs 8oz. That was her measurement last Friday at her 3 week appointment. I'm a little surprised at how much I enjoy having a little girl.
Joseph loves music. And jumping. I think his favorite toy would be a trampoline that makes music as he jumps. He is a very good brother and although he misses having Lacy's full attention, I think he is adjusting well (for now). He got to play with his cousins Nicole, Michelle, and Tison yesterday, and that makes him as happy as anything else. He is also enjoying his increasing footspeed, as running away after the bath is a new fun trick.

May 6, 2007
This has been a very nice time for our family. I have spent most of it at home, and we were glad to have the company of Lacy's mother. I'll start with Millie.
She is a great little girl, who eats and sleeps well and just seems to be the sweetest thing I've ever seen. To our eyes she looks like a little girl and gets prettier every day. She is very strong, and every time she is awake and uprights she lifts her head up. She also seems to try and focus hard on faces. She responds well to our voices and is fun to watch.
Joseph has adjusted well to Millie's joining our family. He kisses her goodnight and gets excited sometimes when she appears from a nap. His vocabulary is really growing. Its hard to remember the time when he couldn't tell us when he was hungry or thirsty, or when he wants to get down from his high chair. He has some new habits. At bedtime he sometimes like to take one of his favorite books to bed. A few times when I have put him in his crib he looks up at me and says "Bye."
He still loves The Wiggles and Backyardigans. His absolute favorite activity is jumping up and down. He has gotten quite good at it, and especially enjoys playing at the gymnasium near our house, where they have free play on Friday mornings. He is as much fun as a dad could hope for. Life is good for the Lowry's.

April 26, 2007
Today is an eventful day for our family. At about 2 am, Lacy woke up with contractions and what she believed to be her water breaking. The pattern was similar to what transpired the day of Joseph's birth. We got to the hospital, but not without some excitement (which you will have to ask me about) and learned that she was not as far along in the process as we expected. This caused some frustration and anxiety, but Lacy possesses impressive fortitude and before too long, but not before intense contractions, Lacy began to push. Just thirty minutes later she gave birth to Camilla Jane Lowry. Millie weighed 9 lbs 14 oz, and many of the hospital staff were rightfully impressed by Lacy's all-natural delivery.
To me the birth of a child is beyond miraculous. From a detached perspective, it fascinates me how a complete, functioning human is formed over a period of months within the womb of a woman. From a personal perspective, it is one of the most moving emotional and spiritual experiences that you can have. I don't even have to elaborate on the way that my experience in the birth of my children has differed from Lacy's, but I know that the tremendous relief I felt was amazing to me. I cannot express in words what it is like. I see divinity in it, and I am thankful to my Father in Heaven for the well-being of my wife and daughter.
When Joseph was born in 2005 and diagnosed with a severe heart defect (you can read about it here) it was a complete shock. Lacy had experienced a worry-free pregnancy and we were stunned that anything could have gone wrong. We were fortunate in that instance that his outcome was so positive (something I must also ascribe to a divine blessing). I didn't realize how that had affected me until today. When Millie was being examined I kept waiting for bad news. Its almost the opposite this time around. There isn't anything wrong with this little girl and we couldn't be happier.
My mother offered to watch Joseph during this time and it is a tremendous help. I really miss him, but it is great for Lacy to actually be able to relax and spend time getting to know Camilla. We love our little girl.

Awesome Video Saturday LXXV

A great spoof on the "Whopper Virgins" ad:



I've always loved Beaker:


Ode To Joy from Beaker on Vimeo.

You've Got a Friend

The tremendous popularity of social networking has led to some questions about friendship. One of those is when and how to "unfriend."

This New York Times article looks at the politics friendship in the online age. I like this quote from Henry Blodget, interviewed in the piece:

Mr. Blodget asked Facebook to develop new friendship levels that would let users sort their acquaintances by degree of separation. He suggested categories like “ ‘personal friends’ or ‘work friends’ or ‘extra special friends’ or ‘BFFs’ or ‘friends you want to hear meaningless trivia about all day long,’ ” and implored, “Please give me the ability to put friends in these groups without telling them I have done so.”

It's a fun article.

The Lost Generation

My parents are members of the baby boomer generation, and wonderful people. They are not alone in that regard. Despite many individuals who dignify this generation, as a whole I find Baby Boomers to be quite disappointing.

I'm not alone. Victor Davis Hanson has a condemning post on The Corner:

The reaction to the economic panic was sort of analogous to the call to 'charge it!' after 9/11 (cf. Ike's fights about the surtax to pay for Korea), or to the Iraq 2006 upsurge in violence, when suddenly our leaders declared the war lost, blamed the nebulous "they" for tricking them into voting for the war, and calling for immediate withdrawals and retreats. Ditto the Stalag-Gulag Guantanamo that, by January 19, had ruined the Constitution, shredded the Bill of Rights, and forever tarnished our reputation. Yet, on the 20th, it was suddenly complex and problematic, and required a "task force" to do a year-long inquiry into the bad and worse choices confronting us. At some point in all this serial hysteria, we are beginning to see the problem is not in the stars of the economy or of the war, but in ourselves—a weird generation that, when it finally came of age, proved to be just about what we could expect of it from what we saw in its youth.

Its not too late for this to change, but the continual love affair of Baby Boomers with the misbegotten social experiement that is 60's sure isn't helping.

Fighting the ...?

This may surprise no one, but I've never had a problem with the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The great outcry against the facility is borne of luxury. By luxury I mean the tremendously good fortune we have enjoyed since 9/11 in the form of ZERO major terrorist incidents on American soil.

7 years ago we didn't have that luxury. We didn't have years to feel safe, to feel like so much of the Bush administration's response was overreach and overreaction. Now we look back, and despite government statements that attacks were planned and averted we find ourselves repudiating the actions of the previous administration. I hope we continue to know such luxury. The Israelis certainly don't know it. They live in a state that is perhaps more measured and controlled than what we could attain in similar circumstances.

As David Rivkin and Lee Casey point out in this Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, we should be concerned less with the actual closure of Gitmo and more on how the Obama administration plans to prosecute the war on terror (or whatever they choose to call it).

What Mr. Obama's national security team will quickly discover is that the civilian criminal-justice system is an inadequate tool to deal with terrorists. President Bush's policies -- particularly treating captured terrorists as unlawful enemy combatants and employing a military court system to try them -- were dictated by the very real need to defend American citizens, not by disdain for the rule of law.

The Bush administration chose the law-of-war paradigm because the international law of armed conflict gives the U.S. maximum flexibility to meet the jihadist threat, including the right to attack and destroy al Qaeda bases and fighters in foreign countries. The alternative legal framework, the civilian criminal-justice system, is unsuitable for several key reasons. Civilian criminal suspects quite obviously cannot be targeted for military attack. They can be subjected only to the minimum force necessary to effect an arrest. They cannot -- consistent with international law -- be pursued across national boundaries. And finally, they are entitled to a speedy trial in a public courtroom. These rules cannot be ignored or altered without constitutional amendment.
In addition, the type and quality of evidence necessary for convictions in civilian courts is simply unavailable for most captured terrorists. One federal district judge recently concluded that although the government's information on one detainee was sufficient for intelligence purposes -- that is, he presumably could have been targeted for deadly attack -- it was insufficient to hold him without trial.

So we are right to ask how the new administration will deal with captured terrorists. The news about Guantanamo's closure had brought with it various reports of released terrorists who are now more prominent in their organizations and very involved with ongoing terrorist efforts. Will this become a recurring theme? Will the only options our military have be to (A) Kill the target rather than allow him to be captured and then freed, or (B) Capture the target knowing that he may profit from the generosities of a civilian criminal court system that was never intended for him? The American people deserve better. As the authors enumerate our military deserves better.

Awesome Video Saturday LXXIV

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Changefest '09 - Obama's Inaugural Speech

Ending Polio

It's possible that many of you have little knowledge of polio. By the time of my birth the polio vaccine had been eradicated in the United States. By the time of this writing it originates in only four nations: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, & Nigeria.

We are very close to seeing this crippling and often deadly disease completely eradicated. Now, during the Rotary International Assembly comes this phenomenal news from the fight against Polio. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will add $255 million to a previous $100 million grant to end the disease. These grants will be matched by $200 million raised by Rotarians. Additionally the United Kingdom and Germany have pledged huge sums to help the cause. The video below is Bill Gates delivering his remarks just 2 days ago.



This link will take you to another video on the partnership to end Polio. This is good work.

SPOTD #147

With the beginning of a new administration comes the completion of the SPOTD's 7th year.

I've been on a Popular Mechanics kick lately. Their website is fantastic, and very diverse in terms of what they write about. You can visit PM here.

Today's phrase:
The periodic change in presidential leadership is one of the strengths of our system. Even if the person in question is not your top choice, change in government is quite often a good thing.

Actual:
El verdadero progreso consiste en renovarse.

Phonetic with emphasis on bold syllable:
Ell vair-dah-dare-oh pro-gray-so con-see-stay ain rain-oh-var-say.

Translation:
True progress comes through renewal.

Bugatti Beauty
Want a really old car? Its only $4.3 million. I used to have this car in Matchbox form and it was one of my all-time faves. I recently found it in a box of old things I'd saved. I gave it to Joseph and it promptly disappeared. Así es la vida.

20,000 Leagues
I've written several times about advancements being made in the non-military personal submersibles market. PM has an article about how new technologies are making it easier for the personal submarine to become a reality. Pretty cool.

Movies
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Written about at IRF.
King of Kong: I wrote a brief review here.

Prince Caspian: The followup to The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe was pretty good. I love the books, and neither movie has really matched the source material, but it was a fun movie. The characters were fairly thin, even the ones from the previous film.

Space Chimps: A fairly enjoyable computer-animated film. Clearly inferior animation than Pixar or Dreamworks, but Joseph III loved it, so other kids probably would as well.
In terms of upcoming movies, this is a link to some merchandise for Where the Wild Things Are. This is a classic book, one that I've enjoyed reading to Joseph. I hope it turns out to be a good film,

Common Cleaners
This is a great resource about common household items that can make excellent household cleaners, also from Popular Mechanics.

All Dressed Up...
In an interesting sign of the decline of automaker fortunes these are various photographs of vehicle stocks around the world. I'm not sure how typical some of these things are.

Link of the Day
This video is PHENOMENAL

Ending an Era

So the Bush Presidency is over. I'm one of those people that thinks history will be kind to him. I'll share one reason: Iraq.

William McGurn writes in today's Wall Street Journal that the most infuriating thing George Bush could have done before leaving office was to turn Iraq into a success.

Here in the afterglow of the turnaround led by Gen. David Petraeus, it's easy to forget what the smart set was saying two years ago -- and how categorical they all were in their certainty. The president was a simpleton, it was agreed. Didn't he know that Iraq was a civil war, and the only answer was to get out as fast as we could?
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- the man who will be sworn in as vice president today -- didn't limit himself to his own opinion. Days before the president announced the surge, Joe Biden suggested to the Washington Post he knew the president's people had also concluded the war was lost. They were, he said, just trying to "keep it from totally collapsing" until they could "hand it off to the next guy."

The most important thing is that Iraq is headed on a good trajectory. I think it will continue down that path.

I'm ready for the Bush years to be over, but I am one who does not think them a failure, and I wanted to get on the record with that sentiment.

Whatever you think of Obama, Inaugurations are very impressive. Watch it below!



This is a great article on the significance of Obama's inauguration, from some less-considered historical perspectives.

Musical Chairs...

The Financial Times has this helpful interactive graphic that breaks down the Who's Who of the incoming Obama administration.

If you want to try and get those names in order, this is a good place to go.

A Special Day

The imminent inauguration of Barack Obama adds a certain poignancy to the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. Dr. King was indisputably a visionary man, and he was able to share that vision with many who then adopted it as their own. Decades have demonstrated how important and influential he was.

I am frustrated by the need of some in our society to make hasty judgements about public figures and their "place in history." I would be happy for Mr. Obama to be regarded, 40+ years hence, as a King-like figure. It is obviously premature to make those kind of comparisons now, yet they are made.

I wish him every good thing, and hope the road is smoother than it was for his predecessor.

As a side note, the Volokh Conspiracy remembers the birthday of a great Abolitionist and Libertarian theorist, Lysander Spooner. He helped lay the groundwork for reformers like Martin Luther King, Jr. We should revere him as well.

Awesome Video Saturday LXXIII

I've enjoyed the Apple products that I own, which includes several iPods and an iMac, but this is one product that I can't wait to own!



This is a cool video of Paul McCartney's song "222." It's pretty mesmerizing.

Bush: Economic Legacy

I think this is a great editorial from the Wall Street Journal. It attempts to explain the real way that Bush's economic policies have contributed to what's happened in our economy over the last 8 years, the good and the bad.

A Downward Spiral

I can understand people who are frustrated with the leadership of George W. Bush. While I disagree, I can understand people that think he is a bad person. What I do not understand, and have little patience for, are the people who allege that he his administration has led to a meaningful erosion of our rights. Those people have little understanding of history and what it means to live in a place that is not truly free.

I give Venezuela as an example. For some on the far left Hugo Chavez is a hero. For others, including Mary Anastasia O'Grady, he is a demogogue and a dictator:

...the art of dictatorship has been greatly refined since Stalin killed millions of his own people. Modern tyrants understand that there are many ways to manipulate their subjects and most do not require the use of force.
One measure that Mr. Chávez relies on heavily is control of the narrative. In government schools children are indoctrinated in Bolivarian thought. Meanwhile the state has stripped the media of its independence and now dominates all free television in the country. This allows the government to marinate the poor in Mr. Chávez's antimarket dogma. His captive audiences are told repeatedly that hardship of every sort -- including headline inflation of 31% last year -- is the result of profit makers, middlemen and consumerism.

More and more Venezuelans are recognizing that Chavez is not who he professes to be. The first question is whether enough of them will do something about it when it matters, at the same time. The second is whether Chavez will allow it to matter.

From the Earth to the Moon

Currently the Ares rocket is the vehicle being designed to carry American astronauts back to the moon. This Popular Mechanics article looks at the Ares and one alternative, the Jupiter Direct. The picture below provides further information.

Awesome Video Saturday LXXII

This pretty much defies easy explanation.



This is a fascinating music video- mesmerizing really.

Great Literature

I love to read. One of the most influential books I've ever read is Atlas Shrugged. With very little idea of its intellectual and cultural significance I read it as a tenth grader, at the age of 15. It "made" me a capitalist. Subsequent rereading has entrenched in my mind the major messages of that long novel.

This mention of it from the Wall Street Journal's Stephen Moore explains how today's leaders would benefit from Rand's cautionary tale:

Ultimately, "Atlas Shrugged" is a celebration of the entrepreneur, the risk taker and the cultivator of wealth through human intellect. Critics dismissed the novel as simple-minded, and even some of Rand's political admirers complained that she lacked compassion. Yet one pertinent warning resounds throughout the book: When profits and wealth and creativity are denigrated in society, they start to disappear -- leaving everyone the poorer.
One memorable moment in "Atlas" occurs near the very end, when the economy has been rendered comatose by all the great economic minds in Washington. Finally, and out of desperation, the politicians come to the heroic businessman John Galt (who has resisted their assault on capitalism) and beg him to help them get the economy back on track. The discussion sounds much like what would happen today:

Galt: "You want me to be Economic Dictator?"

Mr. Thompson: "Yes!"

"And you'll obey any order I give?"

"Implicitly!"

"Then start by abolishing all income taxes."

"Oh no!" screamed Mr. Thompson, leaping to his feet. "We couldn't do that . . . How would we pay government employees?"

"Fire your government employees."

"Oh, no!"

Oh, yes.

Risque Business

I've written on a delicate topic at In Rare Form.

How many Angry Men?

Though not a lawyer, I've always been interested in the law. I found this op-ed very interesting. It looks at the historical precedent for having a 12 person jury, and also the inadequacy of smaller panels in providing better legal outcomes.

I served on a jury for a felony court case in Florida. There were seven of us on the panel, 6 jurors and one alternate. We are among the states that do not require a higher number of jurors. Although the case we heard was fairly straightforward, I can see where a smaller group might fail to provide the robust discussion of a larger number.

Were I a defendant I would prefer twelve. It seems like the Founding Fathers felt that way also.

Rules of Engagement

It's not new, but debates about international conflict often involve the legality of those conflicts. Krauthammer looks at the way Israel has waged its most recent conflict with Hamas, and how that differs from Hamas' modus operandi.

Wrapping it Up

2008...what a year.

Wars, rumors of wars. Elections, resignations. Scandals, tributes. I don't know about you, but I'm tired.

I'm also optimistic. Challenging years are also rife with opportunities. From the chaos of 2008 will come a stronger America.

This is a conservative's idea of the top 7 political blunders of 2008.

This is a cautionary warning from a great scholar, Samuel Huntington, as told by Fouad Ajami. He looks at Huntington's main fear about America's future. I like to think we can address these.

Courage, friends, courage.

50 Years of Fidel

2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the communist takeover of Cuba. It is a somber occasion for most Cubans, marked by contempt for the Castro regime and also lamentation for the loss and deterioration of their homeland.

I believe the time has come to end the embargo, but I can't say that it wasn't the right thing to do almost 50 years ago. That question has little bearing on what should now be done. There arew thorny legal issues involved in this question as well. For some U.S. firms, like Bacardi, to return to Cuba for business would likely open up the question of how their property, appropriated by the Cuban government in the takeover, should now be treated.

The human side of modern Cuba is illustrated in this story from the New York Times. Cuba remains a source of real personal pain, 50 years after the revolution.

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Happy New Year!

Evil, thy name is Che

There are some topics that get me all riled up. The deification of Che Guevara is one of those. I have long bristled at the ignorant (at best, stupid at worst) people who wear his image on shirts and hang it on walls, often with the barest understanding of his deeds.

In one of her best columns of the year, the WSJ's Mary Anastasia O'Grady lays to rest any notion of Che's heroism. A new film has been made about him, and it does us a disservice in its portrayal of a man who admonished the use of hatred in his struggle, a hatred meant to push "a human being beyond his natural limitations, making him into an effective, violent, selective and cold-blooded killing machine."

Don't believe the hype. Speak up when you see idiocy masquerading as fashion.

Climate Change, Shmimate Change

This is an interesting column that explores the weakening "consensus" on Global Warming.

Ever shriller and more frantic has become the insistence of the warmists, cheered on by their army of media groupies such as the BBC, that the last 10 years have been the "hottest in history" and that the North Pole would soon be ice-free – as the poles remain defiantly icebound and those polar bears fail to drown. All those hysterical predictions that we are seeing more droughts and hurricanes than ever before have infuriatingly failed to materialise.
Even the more cautious scientific acolytes of the official orthodoxy now admit that, thanks to "natural factors" such as ocean currents, temperatures have failed to rise as predicted (although they plaintively assure us that this cooling effect is merely "masking the underlying warming trend", and that the temperature rise will resume worse than ever by the middle of the next decade).
Secondly, 2008 was the year when any pretence that there was a "scientific consensus" in favour of man-made global warming collapsed. At long last, as in the Manhattan Declaration last March, hundreds of proper scientists, including many of the world's most eminent climate experts, have been rallying to pour scorn on that "consensus" which was only a politically engineered artefact, based on ever more blatantly manipulated data and computer models programmed to produce no more than convenient fictions.
Thirdly, as banks collapsed and the global economy plunged into its worst recession for decades, harsh reality at last began to break in on those self-deluding dreams which have for so long possessed almost every politician in the western world. As we saw in this month's Poznan conference, when 10,000 politicians, officials and "environmentalists" gathered to plan next year's "son of Kyoto" treaty in Copenhagen, panicking politicians are waking up to the fact that the world can no longer afford all those quixotic schemes for "combating climate change" with which they were so happy to indulge themselves in more comfortable times.

It really comes down to the question of priorities. Where do we allocate our finite resources? It should be focused on the issues that we KNOW we can affect, such as child mortality due to unsafe water.

Dolphins Turn it Around

If you need further proof about the futility of sports prognostication here is one: One year after going 1-15, the Miami Dolphins are in the playoffs with an 11-5 record. They have a tough road, but considering, not just last season, but how long it has been since they've even made the playoff, this is great news.

Awesome Video Saturday LXXI

A post-Christmas gift for my Twilight loving friends.

SPOTD #146

I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays. We've been visiting Lacy's family, and having a great time.

Today's phrase:
This is a great time to perform service for people less fortunate. From Dr. Martin Luther King

Actual:
Si ayudaras a una sola persona a tener esperanza, no habrias vivido en vano.

Phonetic with emphasis on bold syllable:
See ah-yoo-dahs ah oo-nah so-lah pare-sewn-ah ah tain-air ace-pare-ahn-sah, no ahs vee-vee-do enn vah-no.

Translation:
If you help only one person to have hope, you would not have lived in vain

Condi lays it down...
I've made a concerted effort lately to keep the SPOTD e-mails apolitical, but I wanted to share this article. It is drawn from a conversation between a Wall Street Journal writer, Kimberley Strassel, and Condoleeza Rice. Rice challenges the notion that the Bush Administration has left the U.S. in a worse situation in terms of international relations. She draws comparisons between the situation inherited by Bush versus the one being inherited by Obama. You may disagree with the policies of the Bush administration, but I think she makes some valid points.

Tebow
The recent Heisman voting left last year's winner, Tim Tebow, in 3rd place. I am not really a Gator fan, giving my allegiance to BYU and Miami, but Tebow is an outstanding player and individual. This bit from the Wall Street Journal makes a case for why he may be the best player of all time.

Last Minute Shopping
Looking for a way to spend a Christmas gift? Popular Mechanics has a series where they look at various tv-sold products. I wrote about one, the Shamwow, at In Rare Form.

Failed Promise
I love movie trailers. They are so expertly made these days that many very mediocre films look like they're going to be much better. This site looks at some great trailers for mediocre 2008 films.

Link of the Day
This is incredible. In order to maintian New York City's aquifer, divers are living underground in a tank, breathing a mixture of mostly helium.
You must read this fascinating bit.

¡Felíz Navidad!

Disney and Christmas just seem to go together. Enjoy this Christmas-themed clip.



Of course, these kinds of things are secondary to the real significance of the holiday, the birth of Jesus Christ.

On Economic Leadership

I am concerned by the lack of economic leadership in our time. Neither Bush nor Obama has given the American people much to look forward to. Yesterday saw Obama talking about economic recovery, and how "It will take longer than any of us would like — years, not months. It will get worse before it gets better." Joe Biden said "There is no short run other than keeping the economy from absolutely tanking. That's the only short run." Indelicate words.

I don't mean to imply that the economy is healthy right now. It isn't, but we don't need leaders thst confirm the most negative assessments proferred by the media. We need leaders that acknowledge our problems while offering a clear understanding of America's unique advantages. Are we getting that from anyone right now? Obama was elected in part on his ability to inspire people. Though I failed to be moved by him I could understand the appeal. I'm not seeing a whole lot of inspiration right now.

Meanwhile, Congress failed to demonstrate leadership by allowing a scheduled pay increase to pass. Good work folks.

At least Illinois seems likely to provide a fascinating sideshow for a while.

Awesome Video Saturday LXX

I used to have this dream where I was Mario. I was in the game, jumping up and down, moving forward and backward but never side-to-side. It was kind of claustrophobic.

Anyway, I thought this video by some crazy French guy was cool.

Global Warmism's Hubris

This post is not about whether there is global warming. Nor is it about whether climate change is manmade. It is about the foolishness of the many that presume that we can manipulate climate to our own ends. A CNN meteorologist agrees:

CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers had never bought into the notion that man can alter the climate and the Vegas snowstorm didn’t impact his opinion. Myers, an American Meteorological Society certified meteorologist , explained on CNN’s Dec. 18 “Lou Dobbs Tonight” that the whole idea is arrogant and mankind was in danger of dying from other natural events more so than global warming.
“You know, to think that we could affect weather all that much is pretty arrogant,” Myers said. “Mother Nature is so big, the world is so big, the oceans are so big – I think we’re going to die from a lack of fresh water or we’re going to die from ocean acidification before we die from global warming, for sure.”

People like Bjorn Lomborg have argued very effectively that there are many more worthy causes for our money and time. This is not to say that we shouldn't address environmental issues. We should address the things that can be controlled, and I just don't think that climate is one of those.

It you think I'm wrong, please let me know.

NY No ♥ U

The State of New York has unveiled a devastating budget for 2009. It's full of budget cuts and tax increases. Get the rundown here.

Florida is having some tough times as well, but not quite like this. I'm sure the NY plan will only decrease incentives to stay in the state.

Principled Opposition

I love Atlas Shrugged. The book promotes a kind of ideological purity that I would find difficult to apply, but I still admire it. This statement from the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights examines the real reason why Republican opposition to an auto bailout should be offensive:

A principled opposition to the auto bailout would have denounced as immoral any attempt to use taxpayer money to prop up failing companies. It would have insisted that such attempts at central planning are destructive and un-American. It would have said that the government’s proper function is not to engineer the economy, but to protect individual rights and otherwise leave the economy free. That is not what the Republicans claimed.
“In his floor statement opposing the bill, leading Republican senator Mitch McConnell’s ‘stinging’ criticism consisted of finding that the bill ‘does not’ lay out ‘an effective strategy for securing the long-term viability of these companies,’ that it did not give the proposed ‘Car Czar’ enough power, and--the ultimate deal-killer for Republicans--the bill would have adjusted auto worker wage rates at ‘too slow’ a pace.
“The tragic fact is that Republicans do not regard central planning as objectionable--they merely disagree with the Democrats’ central plan.”

It is a damning but accurate critique, and Republicans will continue to fail among many of their former supporters if they don't wise up.

Kennedy Shmennedy

Isn't there anyone qualified for the New York senate seat that is not named Kennedy? Is New York that devoid of talent? Must the replacement come from the political establishment at all?

Claudia Rosett compares the New York situation to what we might find in some banana republic. It's pathetic.

Saying Thanks

Say what you want about the guy, but you can tell from their reaction that a visit from the President was very meaningful for these soldiers. It is fitting that he would visit them once more before the end of his term.

Death & the Failed State

As a follow-up to my previous post on the effect of inconsistent maritime law on piracy, here is a great article by Max Boot on the matter, as well as what can be done to improve things. He focuses on the impact of "failed states" like Somalia, and how the absence of a legitimate ruling power creates a vacuum that is all too attractive for pirates and their ilk.

Similarly, this post from a New York Times blog looks at how failed states harm their own citizens internally. In this case, it is the failure of the government of Zimbabwe to act decisively against a serious outbreak of cholera. The author poses some good questions, most of which I think are addressed in Boot's prescription:

The essential problem in both Somalia and Pakistan is a failure of governance. The question is: What if anything can outside powers do to bring the rule of law to these troubled lands? In the 19th century, the answer was simple: European imperialists would plant their flag and impose their laws at gunpoint. The territory that now comprises Pakistan was not entirely peaceful when it was under British rule. Nor was Somalia under Italian and British sovereignty. But they were considerably better off than they are today -- not only from the standpoint of Western countries but also from the standpoint of their own citizens.
You might think that such imperialism is simply unacceptable today. But you would be only partially right. There have been a number of instances in recent years of imperialism-in-all-but-name. Bosnia and Kosovo -- still wards of NATO and the European Union -- are prominent examples of how successful such interventions can be in the right circumstances.

Is this a Maslow thing? I think so, in the sense that security and the rule of law are essential if we want the niceties of government, such as disease prevention and democratic regimes. This is something that we will be dealing with for a long time.

Awesome Video Saturday LXIX

In the end, this is really just a long commercial, but its a good one.

Frigid Nights in Far-off Lands

I really encourage you to visit Michael Yon's site. He is an independent journalist providing some of the best war-reporting available. He's not an ideologue in the political sense, but is absolutely interested in seeing us win our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is frank about the challenges we face in Afghanistan, as he was about Iraq pre-Surge. Here is an excerpt of a recent post:

While Americans sleep tight in their beds, this time of year U.S. soldiers sit shivering through the frigid, crystal clear nights at remote outposts in places most of us have never heard of and will never see. Often they head out into the enveloping darkness, to hunt down and destroy terrorists, who continue to kill innocent Afghans, Americans, Aussies, Balinese, Brits, Indians, Iraqis, Pakistanis, Spanish….in short, anyone who opposes their violent tyranny.

All of this occurring a world away from our comfortable lives. Read more and remember.

Missile Defense- Does it work?

Popular Mechanics takes a look at our missile defense technology. Some thoughts:

Ultimately, the question of whether the GBI is an effective defensive system or simply part of a well-orchestrated bluff could be irrelevant. This year Congress called for a study to determine whether ballistic-missile defense should exist as currently configured, with a review to be finished by 2010. And even if the MDA’s $9.3 billion annual budget survives congressional scrutiny, its direction and scope could change under a new presidential administration. For now, Fort Greely is adding more missiles. Stepping out of the silo, I notice the day feels colder. There are 20 silos in this missile field, and in the distance, a silo is hanging suspended from a crane—another missile field under construction. I ask Bond why the inventory keeps growing, when neither North Korea nor Iran has successfully tested an ICBM. “You cannot wait until an enemy has a knife at your throat to figure out how to parry the thrust,” he says. “If you do, your life or your wallet will be forfeit.”

It's a very interesting article, and it explains how ballistic missile defense systems are meant to operate. Pretty cool technology.

How Dark the Knight

The Dark Knight was definitely my favorite film this year. I was had a desire to be a professional filmmaker. At some point in my very early 20's I realized that I lacked some of the determination, and perhaps innate skill, to make a successful go of it. I still love film, and I enjoy getting a filmmaker's perspective on the choices they make in the production process.

There is no question about Christopher Nolan's technical skill as a director. The Dark Knight was an extraordinary crescendo of action and feeling that left me thinking about it for days. I thought the themes in the movie, while dark, were well worth thinking about.

In this piece, from an L.A. Times blog post, Nolan revisits one scene from the film, his favorite, and if you enjoyed the movie you may like what he has to say. An excerpt:

Christian and I had talked a lot on "Batman Begins" about finding a moment in that film where you actually worry that Batman will go too far. A moment where his rage might spill over and he would break his rules. We never found that moment. It just wasn’t there in that story. There was a lot of strength and aggression in the way he played the part, but I don’t think the story provided that element of losing control. What the Joker provides in the second film is the fact that his entire motivation is to push people’s buttons and find their rules set and it turn it on itself. And Batman of course places such importance on his rules, his morals. It’s what distinguishes him, in his mind, from a common vigilante. The Joker is able to twist him around and make him question his own approach and his own actions.

SPOTD #145

Its been a while, but here is the latest edition of the SPOTD. Enjoy.

Today's phrase:
The proximity of major holidays in November and December means many of us spend a lot of time with our family. Thomas Jefferson had the following to say:

Actual:
Los mejores momentos de mi vida han sido aquellos que he disfrutado en mi hogar en el seno de mi familia.

Phonetic with emphasis on bold syllable:
Lows may-hore-ace mow-main-toes day me vee-dah ahn see-doe ah-kay-yos kay ay dees-froo-tah-doe enn me oh-gar enn ell say-no day me fah-meel-ya.

Translation:
The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.

Movies
Quantum of Solace: I thought Casino Royale was fantastic, so I've been eagerly anticipating this sequel. It wasn't as good, but I liked it. I'm sold on Daniel Craig
Speed Racer: This movie really is a live-action cartoon. I was always a fan of the source material. When I was little I would crawl into my parents bed in the morning to watch the cartoon. I enjoyed it. I don't think I would expect Lacy to watch it- definitely not her thing- but I thought it was cool.
The Road Home: This is a Chinese film, by the same director as Hero and House of Flying Daggers. This is not a martial arts epic, but a sweet, small love story. We both enjoyed it quite a bit.
Twilight: I didn't see it, but my wife did. She enjoyed it, mostly on the performance of Robert Pattinson. She said she'd see the sequel (certain to be made now) and hopes the enhanced budget can compensate for a mediocre effects effort.

Phasers On
My son would call these "zappers" (I call them that because it doesn't bother Lacy as much as saying "guns"), but this news about lasers being used in the military is great. The primary focus is to destroy weaponry and incoming artillery/missiles. Very cool.

Dear Santa
Who wouldn't like to have some Night Vision Goggles, and for less than $70!?!

Do-it-Yourself At Its Best
Some of you will be traveling over the next month. If you have ever tried to watch a movie on an iPod, you know holding it can get old. Behold! Your solution.

Link of the Day
Bought your Festivus Pole yet?

Remember

Today is the 67th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. We should remember those who died in the attack, what their heroism taught us, and never forget.

For this group of veteran survivors the memories are fresh.

Awesome Video Saturday LXVIII

I miss John Candy. The whole clip is good, but the end is money.



I almost didn't post this one because it is so painful, but I couldn't resist.

Plaxico & the 2nd Amendment

You may have heard of the accidental self-shooting of New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress. He was foolish and careless in his behavior, but is the law that may send him to prison for a 3 1/2 years even consitutional?

In the Wall Street Journal Dave Kopel argues that it is not. Kopel points out that Burress is not being charged with discharging his firearm, shooting himself, or using a firearm while consuming alchohol. He is being charged with carrying an unlicensed firearm in New York:

In 40 states, including Connecticut, law-abiding adults are issued permits once they pass a fingerprint-based background check and a safety class. In New Jersey, carry permits are virtually never issued. In New York City, carry permits are issued, but to applicants with some form of political clout rather than on the basis of his or her need for protection.
The Second Amendment might not require New Jersey or New York City to issue as liberally as Connecticut does. But with a population of several million and only a few thousand (consisting mainly of politicians, retired police and celebrities) able to get permits, New York City's licensing process is almost certainly unconstitutional on a number of grounds, including sheer arbitrariness.
Some commentators contend that Plaxico Burress should have hired bodyguards, instead of carrying a gun himself. Mr. Burress might now agree. But people who aren't as wealthy as he is also deserve to be safe, and they don't have the money for bodyguards. New York City needs to regularize its carry permit system so that law-abiding people can protect themselves, especially if their circumstances (such as being a witness to a gang crime) place them at heightened risk.

Burress was licensed to carry a firearm in Florida, where he was a resident. Was he foolish for carrying in New York? Yes. Could he have seriously injured himself or others? Without question. Is the law of New York constitutional? Only time will tell, but in my opinion Kopel makes a good case.