System.out.println("Hello World!")

I once had a goal to learn how to write the "hello world" program in as many programming languages possible (it is just a simple program meant to get a novice familiar with a programming language). Well, I only learned how to do it in Java, C, Perl, R, Splus, and SAS. Not to impressive from my original lofty goal. But I don't care because the "hello world" program is just a bunch characters compiled into a bunch of 0s and 1s which in turn tells a computer to do something insignificant.

Well, something significant happened today. We had a REAL "hello world" experience. And this is the real deal. Behold:

The boy gave us quite a scare this morning. When he arrived, the umbilical cord was tightly wrapped around his neck and body. He took his first breath just fine, but for some reason his body remained very pale and his breathing was erratic, shallow, and fast. He was rushed to the nursery and given an IV, blood tests, and a chest x-ray. I guess when an umbilical cord is wrapped around a baby during his/her leisurely stroll down the birth canal the blood supply to the baby can be crimped leaving the baby with low blood pressure. And stuff. Yeah, I've worked in healthcare for the last 7 years but I really have no idea what was being explained. Please consult someone smart for a better explanation. Anyway, I was too worried about the boy to be concerned about these minor details. To make a long story short, the boy was monitored closely in the nursery for 5 or 6 hours before the docs said that he could leave to be reunited with his mother. That much time for a mom to be separated from her newborn is an eternity! By the time Julie was finally permitted to see the boy, he had pretty much grown up and was eager to have a conversation about the theory of special relativity.

Here are a few more pictures for your enjoyment.




P.S. Julie is doing great! The baby was birthed at 2:00 am on April 25th weighing 7lbs and stretching 18in long. He has already filled his diaper 4 times with substance similar to that of the La Brea Tar Pits. And he has been held in the loving arms of many aunts, uncles, grandpas, grandmas, and cousins. He knows he will be loved. That is for sure.