I have an Xbox Baby,
(but first...)

......I had a brililant comment today from someone in relation to my "Boycott Asda" post.

Blogging is a funny old thing, done by people wanting to have a rant at someone or something, want to tell the world about their lives or just have a little corner of t'interweb, I like to do a bit of everything, nothing too full on, just a place to have a laugh and not get too serious.

...Back to the post in question,

Long story short, Back in March 2007, our Xbox circle of mates all wanted to get a new game on release date, we went to Asda who refused to sell us 8 copies...... I blogged about it telling readers to boycott Asda as they have "ruined our lives....".

Heres the comment, (it's an exact quote so dont slag of the improper use of grammar or spelling).

soryy but i think ur so childish, why would you want to buy 8 copies anyway, your obviously some weird computer geek, get a life, how the hell did asda ruin your life by not sellin them to you. grow up you sad little person

Wierd computer geek
You got me there, I'm a geek, as are the IT people I work with, of which 13 of the 15 also have Xboxes, as are most of my geeky friends, in fact a lot of people I know. I love gadgets/computers and technology (embrace it baby).

Get a life
I've got one of those, - I go out (in the real world) I drink Stella/Jack Daniels/Magners, eat curry, pizza and all other forms of crap, go out drinking in the real world, have a job I love, a woman (I love), 3 children (I love) family and friends. (I love/tolerate).

I have a life and it's f*cking brilliant

Grow up
Who defines what is "grown up", childish I may be sometimes (as my real life fiancee will confirm), but grown up I definately am, I have responsibilities in life which determine that I am grown up as do most adults, I just also have fun.

Anyone else care to confess to being a a wierd, childish computer geek. (Tao, Lee, Cookie, Gaz)

Sad Little Person
I couldn't be any happier, 6 foot 2 and 15 stone

Rant Over - meet Miss Geeky Junior(ess)

Hello Is that Xbox Support, My Daddy won't let me play

By the way comment poster, AOL isn't the best ISP, Windows Media Center isn't brilliant, you should use Firefox as your browser rather than IE 7 and you didn't have to click on my blog when searching for an "Asda" image in Google - Now thats Geeky, and I also have your ip address 172.202....... but instead of all this, chill out enjoy or don't read my blog, it's a bit of fun.

The start of a new year ....

Its been a mad few weeks here in Damo World, New Job (at the same place), spanking Taos' arse online (so to speak), Leah being "wired up", family crappy internet connection problems, I don't know where to begin.....

So I'll begin with Leah

Leah has been to the Glenfield hostpital this afternoon for some tests on her heart, nothing major, just ECGs and scans.

Long story short, but SWMBO (Mummy) suffers from a heart condition known as Long QT, long story short, each heartbeat consitsts of P, Q, R, S and T intervals, (the beep you hear on heart monitoring machine). SWMBOs the time between her Q and T is longer than normal. Long QT Syndrome. The problem with this condition is that it's hard to detect but can kill people instantly, as well as being trigger by sound, sleep or noise, once it is detected however, it can be "treated" with Beta Blocker tablets or by fitting a implantable defibrilator.

Although quite rare, Long QT is gainng a lot of news recently. Marc-Vivien Foe who collapsed while playing football was said to have died from Long QT, and more recently Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell, another footballer has been rumoured to have had the same condition, which tragically, he also died while playing football.
I digress

As this condition is hereditary, SWMBOs mother, grandmother, 2 great-aunts, cousin and uncle have all been diagnosed with it and sadly her sister died 10 years ago from what was later attribued to Long QT. All those diagnosed are now under consultant care and genetic testing at the Glenfield hospital. We took Leah to have some tests today, this consisted of having an ultrasound type test to look at he heart chambers followed by an ECG. The ECG showed a Q-T interva of 405 which they stated is very low and not even borderline, although this sounds like good news, Long QT doesn't really show up until a child reaches 10ish years old.

The final test heas Leah wearing a 24 hour ECG, 3 pads are taped to her body and a reader is hid.... in her nappy, this will take her heart readings over a 24 hour period which will then be analysed further.Let's just hope she has my genes...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Santa Baby on her trustee sleigh

The 2 SWMBOs

It only took 3 hours to open Leahs presents

Where's Leah?

My Water Babies

I finally had the chance to see Leah doing her water babies session this week, Waterbabies teach babies to swim in a fun way, and boy Leah had fun, she even swam underwater.

I swear I'm having the maternity leave next time and SWMBO can go back to work after 2 weeks off.

My 2 SWMBOs

Mothers group (+1 father)

Happy swimmer

Leah has learned to close her eyes when mummy says"Ready, 1,2,3, Go"

Proper Photos

SWMBO and Monster took Leah to have her first "proper" photos on Saturday, Pixie Photos had an offer where you got a free 12" * 10" photo. They obviously know what they're doing as the "free photo" turned into £110 worth of more photos, worth every penny I'd say, Wwe had them taken of her in her christening gown - Bless. Service is excellent, we recieved the photos today and here they are not copied, scanned in or anything that may seem illegal.

Happy Halloween

I even got to carve my very first pumpkin, what do you think, now it's time to scare some children...

Well that was a weekend (or should that be "What a bag of sh*te")

If Wednedsdays diabolical effort of a football match between England and Russia wasn't bad enough, we also managed to fail at even more sport over the weekend,
firstly England were seemingly robbed at the Rugby World Cup Final over a was it/wasn't it try, and today Lewis Hamilton failed to end the weekend on a high by winning the F1 World championship*.

Still my baby had a wonderful Christening and had lots of photos taken thanks to Uncle Stuart "Trez".

Cheers for taking the video and the photos Stu, I have told everyone they can purchase copies for £4.95 each...

All in all a rubbish week for English sport, but fantastic weekend for me and SWMBO

* it appears that Lewis Hamilton might actually win the championship as BMW Sauber and Williams are being investigates for irregularities ... We'll see but I'm not holding out much hope.

Come on England, Come on Lewis, Come on Vicar & Minister

What a weekend it's set to be, England v South Africa in the world cup Rugby final on Saturday.
Lewis Hamilton going for world championship status in the Formula 1 on Sunday.
Me... I have a wedding to go to on Saturday which will hopefully have a TV somewehere. (Although I'm feeling a bit ill at the moment and may not be able to attend :-) )
On Sunday we are baptising Leah so I can't really cry off from that, although I might try and rush the mininster through the service, starts at 2.30 and we really should be done by 4.00 (race starts at 5.00).

I could record them but doubt I'd be able to stay away from TVs, radios and people for long enough to avoid finding out the results.

Come on...

Ola Mi Amigos

Bloody hell it's hot....

We managed the luggage, packed the travel cot with a ton of stuff so to keep our normal allowance downthe travel cot ended up weighing 22Kg, as well as each of our luggage also being over the allowance of 20Kg, luckily we managed to get away with it. Who'd have thought you'd need so much suff for a baby, and we're using it all.

Middle of September and it's around 34 degrees in the daytime and 24ish at night. I called home and my mum told me it's wet and cold.... YES.

Leah covered in suncream, with a hat on, in a baby tent, under a tree,
in the shade, in the sun.... Protected and happy(ish)

Leah didn't like the heat on day 1, but is now used to it, Father-in-Law still doesnt like the heat but unfortunately won't fit in the baby tent. Although he seems to have re-found his youth here, listening to Hed Kandi on his my iPod and reading Harry Potter.

Listening to Fat Choonz on MY ipod

I can see the sea

The Apartment is great, 2 big bedrooms and 2 big bathrooms with living space and a sea-view balcony, what more coul you ask for.... well for the next resort to turn the bloody music down that's what. Apparently the music goes on till 3.00am, I don't know cos I'm fast asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

The Vodafone coverage is great here too. super fast 3G (7.2Mbs) from my 3G card, not to mention the daft spanish that all seem to have unsecured wireless networks. No need to be without my internet....

That's enough for now, I'm off to tend to my sunburnt shoulders..... and have another €2 pint, (where the hell is the euro sign on the keboard).

Tenerife -

As Peter Kay said, we've booked it, packed it and now we're 'Kin Off

Yes, the day is finally here, we are going on our "summer" holiday, 12 days in wonderful Tenerife for I think what is my 5th time and SWMBOs 12th.

This time will be slightly different however, as we are taking our little Leah I'm going to do some proper sightseeing, so rather than Tramps, Linekers, Valentinos, Yates, Harleys etc, it would be nice to see some proper Tenerife stuff. for this I have found a nice site - Secret Tenerife which is aimed at "discovering the real nature of this beautiful, sub-tropical Canary Island".

Don't get me wrong, as soon as we've put Leah to bed with the babysitters grandparents, we'll be hitting Tramps, Linekers, Valentinos, Yates, Harleys etc just found a pub called "Bikini-G's" so will have to try that out, (don't worry, I'll get photos).

In the meantime I have my ipod, book and PDA so I won't bwhile topping up my tan, I just hope the weather stays good for us.

See y'all soon.....

Web Links
tenerife-uncovered - secret-tenerife - tenerifeonline

A Bargain Expensive Holiday

The countdown is almost over, we are a few days away from our long awaited holiday. Fortunately SWMBOs' mother (affectionately known as Monster-in-Law) has timeshares meaning we can use these whenever they are free... So we're off to Tenerife for sun, sand, sangria and more sun

Unfortunately - the In-Laws are coming with us
Fortunately - We now have babysitters.
Normally we save hundreds of pounds using Monsters' timeshare, however with Leah now here, this saving has disapperaed and instead, replaced with "Expense"

As we all know, baggage handlers enjoy throwing luggage as far as possible, so to save our £400 "travel system" that Monster bought for us, we have bought a "cheap" buggy at just £70.

Babies cots in apartments are less than appealing so we have bought one to take with us.
The sun in Tenerife is bloody hot se we have bought a "shade a babe" and a beach tent.
For playing around the pool, we have bought a play nest

There, I think thats it...

Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to get away and am really excited at taking our baby on her first holiday, it also helps "limit" our luggage, as babies don't get extra allowance for luggage we need to travel lighter. Normally I take a few pairs of shoes, shorts, etc. as well as my gadgets (camera, camcorder, laptop, ipod etc), and SWMBO - hairdryer (it has a cold setting apparently), straighteners, crimpers, curling tongs, shower, bath, sink, spare sink - in one case, and clothes in the other, we are both normally at the 20Kg limit EACH ... there and a bit more back (with the alcohol).

Our only real worry is what type of water to use when making up Leahs' milk, Leah is still being breastfed but sometimes has a top-up when necessary, as you can't use the water in Tenerife, and most people advise if you must use mineral water, then only use Evian. The best option is to use spring water, so we'll spend some time looking for spring water (as soon as know how to say it in Spanish). DJs Dylan and Darren, if you're reading this, let me know as you might still be over there .

* I do really love my Mother-in-Law - couldn't eat a whole one though

Pulling my Finger Out

I have 3 things I really need to do*

1. Re-do my website
2. Sort out Photos of Leah
3. Create a Leah DVD from my Camcorder


1. Redo my Site
I stupidly decided to re-design my website, I say stupidly as rather than do the redesign then upload and replace the current version, I took the site down with a "Coming Soon" message. After a few months, the site is still coming soon, I am intending on using a template site to base it on, with tabbed tops that link to photos, family, gadgets and other stuff. I have yet to find the template to use but will ned to get it done very soon.

2. Sort out Photos of Leah
I have thousands of photos of Leah, I want to pick the best 100 and create a photo album from birth.

3. Create a DVDI now have lots of footage which I intend on creating a DVD from, the trouble with home movies however is the 100 hours of footage you start with ends up being 5 minutes of decent film. I have a HD (Hard Drive) Camera so the transfer to my PC will be easy, I intend on using Sony Vegas to capture the footage, something like Adobe Premier for editing and maybe After Effects for any special effects, titles etc.

I guess it all boils down to a: being arsed and b: having the inspiration/creative flair to do so, Unlike Taoski, I'm far from creative, getting my ideas from t'internet bores the hell out of me.

Therefore

• My website is will be a very basic, quick loading site
• Leahs Photo Album is fairly straightforward, I have messed around ith Photoshop and created some half-decent photos
• The DVD will be a "pre-release" therefore not have any special effects

Any ideas greatly welcomed.


* I actually have about 33 things to do but SWMBO doesn't read my blog so the other 30 "house things" can go on hold.

Go Leah..... Go

Despite all the shit I am having with my knee, I still have reasons to be happy, like this one for example, I was just saying the word go, no face pulling and no daft moving.



...Bless

I'm Home

I managed to escape at 8.00 last night and it's great to be home.

First thing I did was grab my little girl and give her a massive hug, (my daughter that is, not SWMBO).

My knee still hurts like a bitch although being at home makes me feel better, I have been referred to a Private Healthcare Company (Healthcare-at-Home) who will continue the IV antibiotic treatments 4 times a day, as well as check my blood pressure, temperature, CRP and anything else they need to monitor. This will continue for 3 weeks followed by 2 weeks of oral IV.

Its wierd having a nurse come to your house, they have a ton of kit with them which they use to turn your living room into a hospital room.

It's definately better than spending the next 3 weeks in a hospital, that's for sure. Also it means my hospital diary can now stop and I can get back to blogging more interesting things.

SWMBO is so happy to have me back*, she now has the priviledge of looking after me and Leah.


*Lie

Day 10 - Good and Bad News

The consultant came to see me this morning, he is happy with my recovery as long as my CRP continues to drop. He actually mentioned going home (for the first time), to continue my treatment, and this may even be as soon as Sunday or Monday. I will need to have the PICC line put in which I had decided on anyway. I should hopefully be starting my physio in the next couple of days.

My CRP results came back - 96 - Yesssss !!!!!

The RMO (Resident Medical Officer - Doctor that Lives onsite) came to discuss the PICC line insertion, it involves a local anaethetic then a little cut where they put a tube in, followed by the line itself, he mentioned this will either be in my groin, my chest or my neck (CHEST PLEASE). These lines can stay in for up to 90 days although they prefer 30 days, either way they should really only need to put one of these in, my veins are saved...

So far the day went well, I even managed a shower - Took ages but I didn't care, I AM RECOVERING !!!

As my veins are now well and truly shot, I had to have one of my antibiotics via an injection (in my arse) this worried me, Gentamicin has to be given slowly by IV, otherwise you can go deaf and it's irreversible - but this is not the case via injection as the muscles soak it up, but also means it's not as effective.

The anaesthatist came to see me at 5.30pm, he explained it goes in via the top of the arm (phew) and I will be going down within the next 30 minutes.

I went down to theatre at 6.00pm got prepped and the anaesthatist started....

Then comes the bad news

... 2 hours and 14 attempts later, he stopped, he had tried every vein he could find using an ultrasound machine but they were all thrombosed (blocked), he was unable to thread the tube through therefore unable to put the PICC Line in.

What is it with me, I had a tiny chance of getting the staphylococcus infection in the first place, then the "easy" procedure of getting a PICC Line is not possible. Apparently being part afro-carribean means my sink and veins are thicker than normal, (great for the aging process, shit for venal work) :-(

I am now waiting until tomorrow for a radiologist to put the line in via a different method. Whoever had their fingers crossed for me before, please do it for me tomorrow,

My arms are killing and full of little cuts, and still I'm having to have the IV antibiotics via a cannula which is red, sore, swollen and hurts like mad.

But Daddy will be home to see Leah and SWMBO - whatever it takes.....

Daddy's coming home

Day 9
WOW - 9 Days...

Good news - my CRP has dropped again to 123, I thought I'd be a lot happier than I was about this result...

I am starting to get very down now, I am beginning feel the world is just passing me by as I lie here, Leah had one of her first giggles yesterday and daddy missed it.

I also had some shooting/stabbing pains in my knee but was reassured by SWMBO that these are my wounds healing (muscles & nerves trying to re-attach etc)

I have decided I need to stay positive though, I am scheduled to have a physio session tomorrow which will also mark the second part of my "road to recovery" (the first being getting rid of the infection itself).

COME ON !!!!

Intermission Time

Enough of my knee, Mummy, SWMBO and Monster (and now Leah) ;-), I have found a great welcome home present.

Image courtesy of digiuk.com

This might just have everything I need in a photo frame:

• 7" Widescreen (800 * 480)
• Vista and XP Compatible
• 4 in Memory Card Slot (
• Integrated Memory (64Mb)
• Slide Show
• MP3 playback
  
• Moving Picture playback
• Wi-Fi for streaming pictures
• USB port (but can I plug in my 4Gb USB stick?)
  
• Movie playback in MPEG1, MPEG4 and DivX format

Released in September at all some good geek shops for around £150.

... and just to cheer ME up
DONE !!!!

Our New Arrival
Monday May 7 was indeed a very special day for me (and SWMBO I Guess).

The birth of our baby daughter Leah

Many thanks to all staff at the Derby City General Infirmary, in particular Annabelle for the safe delivery of my little angel

Hence the reason for my lack of blogging, I have once again been enjoying every single minute of fatherhood.

Already She has the Byrne frown mastered

Asleep in front of the fireplace

Resting (again)

One proud Mummy

The look of love

Trying to hide under the towel

Daddy will never let you go