Alexander Saulvedis Pennebaker Rutins

At last I get around to updating this blog with my most monumental news -- though you'll excuse the delay, I hope, as I've been rather busy.

Alexander Saulvedis Pennebaker Rutins was born at 5:00pm on August 11, 2006; he weighed 7 lbs, 2.2 oz and was 19 inches long. Now he's nearly a month old and is growing well and eating like a maniac.

He had a bit of a rough start, though: on the way into the world, he got knocked out cold. The doctors revived him, but he continued to have a bit of trouble and was sent to Dartmouth-Hitchcock, where there's a proper neonatal ICU where he could be better monitored and treated. The long and short of it is that due to a rapid descent, he had had some bleeding in the brain -- his head had to compress and uncompress faster than was good for him, which burst some blood vessels.

Luckily, infants have great powers of recovery because their brains are still developing even up to three months of age. So within a few days the blood had been broken down by his system and the healing had begun, with all tests coming back normal.

He spent almost two weeks there, with us staying nearby at a wonderful non-profit house specifically for the families of patients of the children's hospital; but what a relief it was to finally get him home. Of course, not having a nurse around to hand him off to for the 3:00 AM feeding took some adjustment, but so far, so good.

At this point, you'd never know that he had anything but a completely normal first couple of weeks. He's active and is certainly keeping us on our toes, and he's got the lungs of an opera singer (ouch! my ears! I'm tempted to upload a recording of him).

Look here for photos, and here's Alex's own website, which currently just contains photos from his grandad and his aunt.

Margaret Elizabeth Reymert Carlson Pennebaker (“Meg”) died peacefully on April 29, 2006, after a short illness.

Meg was born in Tallinn, Estonia, on January 30, 1932. Her parents, Harry Edwin Carlson and Laura Elizabeth Reymert Carlson, were American diplomats who were stationed in Estonia at the time. Meg’s family subsequently moved to London, where her father served as US Consul General during Joseph Kennedy’s tenure as Ambassador (Meg later recalled attending a children’s birthday party for Teddy Kennedy). In 1939, Meg’s father was sent to Vienna, where Meg witnessed first-hand the Nazi regime. Decades afterward, she still vividly remembered watching a May Day parade of the “Hitler Youth”, who were little boys her own age.

When the State Department ordered women and children to return to the US, Meg sailed to New York with her mother and brother. The family settled in White Plains, NY, where Meg attended high school. She then went on to college, first at Cortland State University in New York, and then at UMass Amherst, where she received a BA in Psychology in 1954.

After graduating, Meg drove cross-country to Los Angeles, where she lived for two years before returning to the east coast. In 1960, she began working for IBM in Yorktown Heights, NY, first in the Human Resources department, and then later as a computer programmer (in the era when programmers used paper punch cards). At IBM, Meg met physicist William Boone Pennebaker, whom she married in 1967 in Sheffield, MA. After their marriage, Meg and her husband settled in Mahopac, NY, where Meg soon became a full-time mother of two daughters.

Meg loved horses all her life. In her youth, she was an accomplished rider and at one point was invited to try out for the US Olympic Equestrian Team. Although financial constraints made it impossible for her to accept the invitation, she was able to take a memorable trip to support the team at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Even after she stopped riding due to health problems, Meg remained active in Pony Club and 4-H, and was the organizer of several equestrian events to benefit local charities. After she and her husband retired to Shaftsbury in 1993, Meg became one of the founding organizers of the Ride and Shine Family Hunter Pace, held annually at Trumbull Mountain Farm to benefit an organization that promotes therapeutic riding for people with disabilities.

Meg is survived by her husband, Bill, and her daughters, Elizabeth Allen-Pennebaker of Burlington, VT, and Patricia Pennebaker Rutins, of Arlington, VT. She will also be survived by Patricia’s son, who is due in August. Her family will miss Meg very much, and are grateful for the many expressions of sympathy they have received from Meg’s friends.

Services will be held on Wednesday, May 3, 2006 at 3:00 pm at St. James Episcopal Church in Arlington, following a private burial. After the service, visitors are welcome at the Pennebaker home. Memorial contributions may be made to Ride and Shine through the offices of Hanson and Walbridge.

How was Carnage?

All I know is that Erik came home with a bunch of Axis and Allies miniatures (and wearing a very guilty look!), and Scott L. detailed the baleful polymorph of a PC into a pig. So how'd it go? Did you all have fun?

Carnage Con 8!

Carnage 2005 is fast approaching! On Nov. 11-13, gamers of all shapes, sizes and ages will gather at Lake Morey for three days of fun, games, and frightening the waitstaff! The preregistration booklet is available at the Carnage web site, along with other information.

Andy's World of Eberron Campaign

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=105247

The Creation Schema. What would you do if you could unlock the secrets of magic and life? What things would you do to gain this power? The murder of a professor in Sharn leads several adventurers into this dangerous and uncharted terroritory.

The war is over but it will take more than a treaty to heal the wounds of a war that lasted 100 years. Could the power of the Creation Schema create a new Arms race on Eberron? What of the Dragonmarked houses? Will they sit back and allow someone to use their creations for their own profit and fame? What of other scheming power-hungry groups? Why do the warforged of the destroyed country of Cyre want it? Why do the Emerald Claw want it in secret and why would they risk restarting a war to retrieve it? Who else wants the secrets?

Follow the Creation Schema on EN World as I tell the tale of a small group of adventurers whom have stumbled onto the power to create life. This same same that could be used to destroy life. Can you decyfer the clues and predict which faction will win the prize? Who will possess THE CREATION SCHEMA?

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=105247