If this sounds interesting to you, then read on for the full story! The first thing i noticed was that the “breathing” of the sleep light got inconsistent when the lid was closed. Then the screen would flicker occasionally. Next, the narcolepsy started. At first, Lappy seemed to fall asleep at very random times. Luckily, it would wake up right away with no problems, but it was still pretty frustrating. Slowly, I started to detect some patterns. Resting my hand on the right side of the computer triggered the issue more often. On some evenings, hitting the delete key would put the computer to sleep every time. This made me improve my typing skills! Eventually I noticed that the problem was significantly more pronounced at night… and that got me thinking.

All the googling i could do turned up nothing but trackpad temp sensor issues. I had eliminated this as a culprit early on, but assumed something similar internally was shorting out and causing the computer to protectively shutdown. The problem worsened, and eventually got to the point where i could wave my hand over the right side of the keyboard to make it sleep. This led me to believe the problem was the built-in ambient light sensor that controls the keyboard backlight and auto-adjusts the LCD backlight. Further searching turned up a short comment that sounded related, nestled towards the bottom of some web article (barticle?). I contacted the poster (whose info i can no longer find to credit properly), and he informed me that yes, he had the same light sensor issue, and fixed it by opening up his computer and removing the sensor. That was exactly what i was looking to hear!

That was months ago. You see, i had just gone through upgrading my hard drive, so i knew how tricky opening up the laptop can be. I wasn’t eager to repeat it, so i put it off. And put it off. And off further. I put it off until things were so bad that i couldn’t hold my laptop on my lap at night, because slight movements or people walking by, or a lamp flickering would trigger sleep… Waking up was getting harder and harder as well, and it would often sleep-cycle (especially at the exciting part of whatever movie we were trying to get through).

So, i finally got around to it, because i’m really gonna need the reliability soon. Disassembly the second time through was much easier. I used the same basic walk-through i had used previously, but this time knew some additional tricks.

There are over 20 very small screws that need to be removed to lift the keyboard (exposing the logic board) on a powerbook. They come in about 5 different sizes. To keep track of what sizes go where, i drew a quick outline of the computer, top and bottom, and marked all the screw holes. As i removed each screw, i punched it through the paper to keep it in place. This vastly expedited the reassembly.

Here are some other notes, in case you ever need to do this:

• Opening the case voids your warranty. Make sure Apple Care can’t help you first.
• Warranties are for chumps. Void away! You will need a 1.5mm allen wrench, and a set of small screwdrivers.
• Get a bigger hard drive to install while you are inside. It’s easy once the case is opened!
• Use the largest size screwdriver you can. I started with the smallest, but it was more likely to strip the screws (scary!)
• You don’t need to loosen the screws on either side of the DVI port.
• The DVD drive latches are a pain! Go ahead and bend out the metal just above the dvd slot. Being able to see the latches makes things much easier. You can bend it (most of the way) back in when you are done.
• You don’t need to remove the sensor on the left — you can simply unplug it and tuck the cable away. I’m not sure i needed to mess with this one at all, but didn’t want to have to open the case again.
• The right sensor seems to make its electrical contacts by simply sitting on wires! No wonder it is shorting out! So much beautiful design inside this case, i’m not sure how this was overlooked. One screw, and this just lifts out.
• Go ahead and blow all the dust out of the case while you are in there.
• Boot up and test things out before screwing everything back together.
• I bent out the little ledge where the DVD slot latches hook on, so they wouldn’t be able to hold so well in case i ever need to get in there again.
• When you are re-attaching the screws, be sure not to over-tighten them. They strip fairly easily, and don’t need to be super-tight. Flush-and-a-half should do the trick.
• Make sure you get all the right-sized screws back where they belong!

That should do it! Hopefully, that is the last i see of the narcolepsy issues. Now Sarah will be the only one sleeping through movies! ;-D

I have some pictures and hope to get them posted soon.

When we were dating, in the midst of an argument, i once said, “You are not the center of my world, ya know.” But looking at things now — the amazing love that we share, our partnership in raising Micah, our conjoined faith life — Sarah is indeed right at the heart of the most important things in my world. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Life is good!

Sarah is now writing down her reflections on her life as a mother… And there is no better day to highlight those writings than today! Be sure to check out her new blog: www.catholicmama.com. Happy Mother’s Day, Sarah!

My own mom has returned to the country (with my sister). My mom and sister have spent the last few years in Brazil working with various church ministries along the Amazon River. It’s exciting to have them both at least a little closer. Micah can’t wait to meet them!

Being a parent myself, i have a new respect for moms everywhere. But i am especially appreciative of my own mother who nurtured, fed, and cared for me, working hard to teach me what i needed to know, in school and out. Thanks, mom. Happy Mother’s Day!

I was recently reminded of this when I heard a great Public Radio International program featuring a Cambodian poet who had survived the anti-intellectual regime. Listen here:
U Sam Oeur performs his poetry on PRI
(from a longer segment)

Justice remains elusive in Cambodia today, but at least trials are scheduled for later this year.

But there are many parts of a baby that are indeed soft.  I’m particular to Micah’s calves myself.   Maybe the bit of belly off to the side, beneath the ribs where love-handles may one day form.

I guess “Soft as a babies lower leg” just doesn’t have the same ring (and daring-do?) to it.  So don’t be surprised if something described by this inacurism actually turns out to be… sticky?

In these 2 month, Micah has already been changing so much. He can hold his head up now, and is just starting to interact with toys and inanimate objects around him. And he keeps growing — longer, fatter, smarter!

I heard it said that “The days and nights may drag, but the weeks will fly by.” Sarah and i have found this to be very true. We are experiencing entirely new types of time distortions.

So, on to the photos! It has been an exciting time for Micah. He got to spend time with some East Coast grandparents when my dad and his wife came out to visit. It was wonderful to see them, and to get to introduce them to our little guy. Micah’s middle name is Glock, my father’s family name.

Week 4 Photo Album

On a recent weekend in Gig Harbor, Grandma Riggio got to help give Micah a bath in the sink. Parts of it he loved, parts he wasn’t so sure about, and some parts he surely disliked. His facial expressions make it all so clear!

Week 6 Photo Album

Enjoy!

So, you can select an album from here: http://www.webmonk.net/micah/

see the original set of photos here: http://www.webmonk.net/micah/week1/

And see the latest here: http://www.webmonk.net/micah/week3/

Yay baby!

We have been home with Micah for 2 weeks now.  It’s been a really amazing time of community, adjustments, and learning to communicate with the little guy.

Sarah and I are so very grateful for the wonderful support and encouragement we have received from our friends, near and far.  The blessings have come in the form of prepared meals, joyful visits, and generous gifts. Such an outpouring is humbling; we offer our deepest thanks.  Our little house can barely accommodate it all!

If Harvey Mudd taught me anything, it was how to function on limited sleep.  Once again, those skills are proving useful.  Micah wakes up for a mid-night snack or a changing between 3 and 6 times at night (11p - 8a).  We are learning to transition in and out sleep very quickly, but it is still exhausting.  Most days we don’t get out of bed until 10a.  Sarah and I work hard to make sure we still love each other well in spite of our grogginess, which is not always easy.  I also find it difficult to stay focused on work during the day — this is my most important area to grow in over the next few months.  Time to knuckle down!

On the flip side, we are really enjoying time with our baby.  Micah amazes us with his complete set of tiny internal organs, his rapidly changing facial expressions, and his ability to melt our hearts with one peaceful moment of eye contact.

He lives a straightforward life these days.  He nurses when he’s hungry.  He lets us know if he needs to poop or be changed.  When he is alert, his eyes soak in all aspects of his surroundings (sometimes he will just stare at the wall, trying to figure out what it is).  He practices holding his head up to strengthen his neck muscles. And when all that wears him out, he sleeps for a few hours, dreams baby dreams (of being back in the womb?), processing all he has learned.  A few hours later, he awakes to have another go at it all.

As parents, we are both learning to better understand Micah’s methods of communication. If we can get his messages, and respond appropriately, we eliminate a lot of crying, and more importantly encourage him to keep using those style of expression.  Thankfully his desires are simple enough and his clues are clear enough that this is coming along well.  I just hope he keeps communicating with us throughout his teen years!  Build a good foundation now, eh?

I have a new set of photographs from the first weeks at home.  I will be trying to get those up this weekend, so stay posted.  I also have a bunch of fairly disjointed thoughts and reflections on the whole process that i will try to get into writing here.  So stay tuned if the details of my life are interesting enough to you!

And once again, many many thanks for all the assistance and encouragement we have received.  We love you all!

He was born at 6lbs, 13oz, and 18″ long. he has currently lost 3% of his body weight, which is very normal. he continues to pass the full battery of tests with flying colors, and will be on his way home tomorrow (saturday). but that’s a whole ‘nutha post.

without further ado…

newborn cuteness!

(you can view as a slide show with the play button in the corner. can you believe we were all that small?)

Sarah is doing well, with minimal tearing. she made it through the entire process with no pain killers. Labor was mercifully short — she impressed 4 nurses and 2 doctors with her strength. she is my hero.

Group Health thinks we are such a great family, they want to keep us until saturday.  for now, we are both exhausted. so do we get to sleep now?

He’s healthy, happy, latched, and loving life.

We haven’t even weighed him yet, but eye-ball estimates put him in at around 6 pounds.  He was born at 5:08pm, pacific time.
Many, MANY thanks to all the encouraging emails we have recieved from people.  You’re prayers and encouragement are so valuable to us.

Many many pictures to follow!