It's been a whole week since any of these events actually happened so let's just blame my PS3 for taking what little free time, I did find, away from actually posting this. :P So to those few fans of the Satellite Fields, if you havn't heard already: my second child was born on June 14, 2008 at 0446! Just as the ultrasound had predicted we did have a son and he weighed in at 6 lb 11 oz and was 19 1/2 in long. He was four weeks early just like his sister and never spent a second in the NICU. ;) Even the nursing staff was amazed at how healthy he was for being a whole month early. We're still dealing with a jaundice issue however. For non-medical minded people this means a high bilirubin level. And further simplified: bilirubin is a waste by-product produced by the body when it recycles red blood cells and can easily accumulate in the body when the liver cannot break it down or the kidneys/bowels cannot clear it fast enough. Jaundice has been linked to serious brain damage at severely high levels and when left untreated. :( Thankfully, the pediatricians caught the problem just as it was getting critical and the levels are just now starting to come down. In a few more days he's expected to be at normal levels for an infant. ;) With all the boring clinical explanations done, here is some fun stuff: A link to a baby picture of him at just a few hours old! For some reason the image could not be posted in this blog...crazy internet, I'm done fighting with it! :P

At a week old he's even back up to his birth weight only having lost barely a pound! The toddler is taking to the new addition fairly well. She doesn't show any signs of jealousy but tends to get very grabby and rough with her younger brother. I can already foresee the "rear seat" fights and "Stop touching me!" arguements brewing between these two. :shock: Thank God I can convince my wife to drive long distance trips and I sleep the whole way. :P Or at least, I used to until now. Since I seem to post new blogs maybe once a month I'll likely put any updates in the comment section for this posting. Between work, family life and, of course, the time munching PS3 I seem to be spending less time on the PC. I think my Sims are ready to revolt from the lack of satellite related chaos in their neighborhood. :D

As mentioned in the topic I was also fortunate to have yet another big prize come my way last week: a Second Place finish in DFAD6! While I was already content with the surprising placement in the Top Ten Finalists, to find myself actually winning a prize was quite shocking. For those who have been wondering just what I presented to the judges, here is the link to my game idea: Mutant League Football: MBP Edition. I cannot stress how much I owe to my "unnamed" friend who contributed to this project. While most of the base ideas came from me the vast majority of the proper writing structure and a good deal of humor came from them. As the special thanks line indicates, this project would have been doomed and certainly no prize won without their help. Thanks again for all your help! :D Be sure to check out the game ideas from the other nine competitors at the DFAD6 union! Not only will they give you good ideas on how to write your own game ideas, for future DFAD competitions and beyond, but also to see what other gamers are wanting in games as well. Hopefully some of these ideas will get noticed and may even end up in games one day. As more gamers begin to enter the video game workforce we can only hope their ideas start showing up in the form of some incredible games. As for my idea, I'm sure EA has toyed with the idea of taking Mutant League Football to the next level. Sadly, I imagine it just doesn't spark enough interest for those who pay the bills and they may even think the game is far too violent for mainstream gaming. :| Whatever the reasons, at least now gamers of all ages can dream with me, for a little while, as to what a revamped Mutant League Football game would be like. :D