A little about Joshua.
There was a strange eeriness about the room. Eerie may not be the correct word, for there are connotations which are not right, a search of the dictionary brings up weird, for this implies fate and destiny.

Laying in a bed was my daughter, by her side a lady who to me is indescribable, not my daughter's maternal mother, for she has left this world, but her soul mother.

In my daughters eyes I could see both absolute excitement, combined in a mish mash of terror. My wifes eyes were as determined to be there as they were tired, her hand interlocked with my daughters as it had been for hours.

In another world, he waited. It appeared that things were different, the normal muffled sounds were there, the constant re-assuring rhythm, the muffled sounds from outside.He was though, in his world, he was safe, warm, well fed and happy. He was most importantly, in control.

A myriad of miracles had converted a few strands of code into little fingers waiting to claw their way into existence, little feet to walk the many roads, little legs to give the power, little eyes to take it all in, and a little mind to absorb and analyse.

It was time, Joshua sent a hormone infusion into his mother's blood stream that would start a sequence of events that her body had been preparing for for years (corticosteroids for those technically interested, and in particular - oxytocin: "The hormone of love").

At 3.55 am on the 4th April 2008 Joshua John joined the rest of us and his destiny.

Regardless of the reductionism,

Best of luck to your toddling grandson Joshua, Wybong.

Joshua is a powerful and historic name, reputedly that of one of the movers and shakers of our society. Some will allude spiritual significance, but at the very least one namesake imported the ethical and philosophical advances of the ancient greeks to the Jews, causing a revolution that is still settling today.

If you believe in a deity, may it bless you, if not, may your stochastic outcomes be biased in Joshua's favour.

Rusty.

Firstly, let me thank you Rusty for replying to what may seem; the meaningless bragging of a proud grandfather, but I hope to develop the discussion much further.

I am aware that I use the reductionist approach and make no apologies for it. I have spent the better part of my life learning what ever I can, culminating with my being awarded a triple major in Science at the age of 37. Reductionism is even apparent in my choices here: Biochemistry, Histology and Gross Anatomy: Molecular, Micro and Macro.

I am just a simple man, son of a simple farmer, but I wonder, so I have explored far beyond the gentle pastures of the Hunter Valley, well they were gentle pastures, they are now ugly dust spewing scars of mans desperate struggle to supply us with more of what we already have and waste and probably didn't need in the first place.

My sympathies go out to all those poor people who have to suffer from the gentle swishing sounds of the wind farms, and have to look these sculptures of mans "expression of interest" to try and live more harmoniously and less invasively on this planet.

More of this much later, I have bigger fish to fry first.

I'm out of posts, but please, the bigger fish?

Brag on, this is an indulgence any might forgive. I look forward to when grandchildren come and wish yours all the best.

Not so worried about the wind farms, I see them as the grid-connected equivalents of our windmills. We have a couple of old Southern-X's, pretty much "granfather's axe" now. I love the solar pumps - One man operation all the way and no towers to climb. I wouldn't mind a couple of wind generators to supplement, but that's just me.

My own background is Biochem, molecular genetics, a smattering of anatomy, physiol, pharmacol, a swathe of introductory engineering and a lot a lab work on Lung Cancer. There was the odd elective in paleo, but that hardly counts.

Where to next?

Rusty

Wybong: Congratulations on the birth of your grandson. What a wonderful event - a new life makes everything else make sense doesn't it; like fulfilling our purpose.

Your wife sounds like a lovely person too btw and you described the scene beautifully.

Best wishes to you all

Wybong,

Though you are a scientist - you have also the heart and soul of a poet.

Thank you for the post - and congratulations on the birth of your grandson, Joshua.

Pynchme

Thank you for your kind words and wishes.

The description is but a small bit of what I saw. As a clinical person I have been there for the births of both my children, but to see your child give birth, is as close to feeling immortal as you could ever get. The quiet noise,the dim lights and the enormity of the what was about to take place was breathtaking.

Poirot

To you also, thank you for your kind words and wishes.

Rusty

I will start to fry some new fish over the next few days.

My big 3 though will be.

Climate change:- Pros and Cons

How cares, lets stop pumping out all this crap into the air, land and water. I have never had the time or expertise to investigate it fully, but as a biochemist, some of those chemicals terrify me.

Lets discuss how to clean our planet, not argue over who's rug we are going to sweep it under.

Australian politics.

What happened to people with vision, without them there would be no federation, no Snowy Mountain Scheme, no rail lines, no Qantas.

Immigration.

Let him who is not a migrant or descendant of migrants leave the room. Hey where did everyone go?

So where would you like me to start?

As a troublesome geriatric fart, I too am blessed with grandchildren, and part of my motivation, is to give them what I was born into. I am troublesome to some, because I can argue like a demon on behalf of My Lord. I am a geriatric because I have torn up too many calenders, but the alternative is worse. The third part of what I am is because until I succeed in bringing the light into some very dark and dirty places, my efforts are nothing but hot wind.

Joshua is a beautiful name, and his namesake, had to have faith in the Lord. Who but a True Believer, could believe that the walls would fall,simply at the sound of trumpets.

I was the very first White Anglo Celtic male to insist against the protests of nursing staff, on being present at the birth of my children. That was over forty years ago now, but I was considered a dangerous radical. Some still think I am such. The wonder of the look on my wifes face, as she suckled unexpected twins, both healthy, is an experience never to be forgotten.

A lawyer is one of the class of people that Jesus Christ wished woe upon. Most of them deserve woe, because they are largely an obnoxious and illogical lot, who never darken the doors of a church, except for the Law Week. However I am blessed, with three grandkids, two girls and a boy, and the wonder of continuing life never leaves me. Perhaps I have been blessed because like Kate Wentworth, the profession would never admit me to their ranks anyway. My wife so hated the thought of a lawyer husband, she moved on, but the Lord has blessed me and her anyway.

Thank you for sharing this profound experience