I'll be a bit sporadic for the next few weeks...

[Rob Lang]

Hi everyone, just to let you know that my attendance here might be a bit on and off for a few weeks. My son, Felix, was born Sunday morning and he and his mother are doing brilliantly.

It's my first baby, so it's all very excited. Usual driven content posts will soon resume no doubt.

[kumakami]

glad to hear the good news! welcome to the fathers club, say good bye to sleep!

[Chainsaw Aardvark]

Congratulations!

Its a big responsibility, but a worthwhile one as well. IF it ever seems like a burden, just remember "Parenting is hereditary - chances are your children's grandchildren will have parents too."

I'll try to send a few more reviews your way to save you a bit of time needed for watching the kid.

[misterecho]

Congratulations,

Just remember its all worth it!

[Kinslayer]

Have you had a chance to sleep uninterrupted for more than two hours in a row yet?

[Rob Lang]

Kinslayer, Felix (my son) has good moments and bad moments. Today (as I'm writing), he's over tired and can't sleep because he's too tired. Angry for no apparent reason! Some nights, he'll sleep for 7 or 8 hours. So, pretty random. I am finding the time to get done all the house chores and continue working on Icar, an island of sanity.

[Kinslayer]

My assistant, the nameless ghoul, has a theory about that. She says that human infants have chaotic sleep schedules for the same reason they make so many babbling noises. Nearly every sound in every language can be found in those early vocalisations, it just takes time to narrow down the set and associate meaning. Likewise, she reasons, we start out with a rather random sleep cycle, because we aren't necessarily primed for a 24 hour day. We certainly cannot start out with natural rhythms for longitude or season. In other words, she says babies' sleep schedules are so wacky because we are already naturally primed for extrasolar life.

[Chainsaw Aardvark]

According to some sources, a baby's crying is the most repulsive sound to a human's ear. In turn we want to investigate what is causing the problem and put a stop to it. In short, we're biologically programed to be altruistic, at least on behalf of the little ones.

This this could be some grand design to teach you about helping others and re-enforce your good nature.

Some cats meow with a frequency very similar to baby's, in a form of mimicking to get us to take care of them in a similar manner.

[Kinslayer]

I have often wondered how much of a cat's meow is imitation. That is not a sound they make very often when they are only around other cats. I have never heard a feral cat meow at all. Meows are used almost exclusively used for dealing with H. sapiens.

[misterecho]

I'm glad I don't live in a country with lax firearms control. Otherwise I would be in prison for shooting all the cats in the said country. I dislike the little blighters