Department of Redundancy Department

I feel somewhat fortunate that my bank was not one of those affected by recent computer glitch that caused issues to the Royal Bank of Scotland and Natwest. It did, however, give me pause to consider holding multiple bank accounts again (I used to when I was a student; my old child account and student account), so I am not completely screwed if something happens to my bank. 


I was reading in the Private Eye yesterday that the RBS in the past few years cut a number of technology staff (and off shored some others), and now the major problems they are facing are caused by computer problems. 


I was extra amused when I read that because on the very same day, using a cash machine while out shopping, the RBS branded machine asked for me "PIN Number". I had a look to see if the cash machine I was using was labelled as an ATM Machine (it wasn't)


It would appear that there were no jobs cut at the Department of Redundancy Department... ;-)

Perception

It is interesting how time and events can change your perception on things.

The major one, as I have pondered before is how ones perception of time changes. Interestingly, it is often time that changes your perception of time. One way to see this is thinking back to how long days and years took when you were younger, seemingly stretching on for ages, compared to an older perception when it doesn't "feel" as long. Note that time itself isn't speeding up around you, it is your perception that has changed.

Another example I noticed earlier today was when I was holding my son, and he was looking out over my arm to his mother. I suspect he was the first male to stare about 20cm below her face that she didn't complain about... So events also change perceptions.

I would say the biggest event of all that can change your perception on something is experience. It is easy to have an opinion on something never experienced, but once you have gone experienced it, your perception on it can, and often will, change. Knowing this (or at least expecting it), I tried to enter parenthood with as few perceptions or expectations on it as possible. So my experiences will be painted onto a blank, untainted canvas, if you will. I think it has helped in me adapting to the massive change so quickly and, like Liz pointed out, it feels natural and as though he's always been here.

Four weeks

Kaleb is four weeks old today. The time has gone by somewhat quickly, but as I'm awake more, the days have seemed longer (I've mused about perception of time on this blog before). 


It's been a fun time. I get some times to spend with Kaleb when Liz is busy doing something and he's not asleep. At the moment, he's mostly just look around, but its nice to spend some time together. Occasionally he tries to focus on me when I'm facing him; he'll move his eyes or head around to follow if I move my head :-)

Football - Alternative to Penalties

This blog post will be quite out of character for me, as football isn't really something I'm into. I guess Liz watching it because the Euro 2012 is on got me thinking a little. In particular about resolving draws. 

Kaleb

Bang on his due date, Liz gave birth to Kaleb, our son. 

I'm almost at the end of my paternity leave now, so thought I would write about the whole experience of the last two weeks, and the new arrival in my life. I've already done a couple of small updates on Google+ and Facebook, but nothing as substantial as this post (as with before the birth, I add more to an opt-in list on Google+, so let me know if you want to be on it to hear more updates, I think it defaults to emails if you're not on Google+).