smokerblog

Jockeys at the Indy 500?

So maybe if the tubby Indy car drivers would just lose some weight, maybe they could do as well as the fourth-place finish of rookie Danica Patrick, because you know, the girl can't be that good.

A Slight Change of Plans

Back when I first posted about our plan to adopt, I mentioned some of the determining factors in our decision to adopt from China: the fixed timeframe, the availability of children in the 6-mo. to 18-mo. age range, the likelihood of getting a girl from a country where girls are not wanted, etc.

Well, I also mentioned that logic has little to do with the decision, and now it seems our previous plans have been slightly modified. A month ago, at a seminar sponsored by our agency, Kari spent some time looking over the display of "special needs" children and was immediately smitten by the picture of one little 3-yr-old boy who had undergone spinal surgery at the age of 2 weeks, but who now suffers no ill effects other than the presence of a scar on his lower back. Kari asked me what I thought and I reminded her of the reasons (listed above) for why we were undertaking international adoption to begin with. And that, I thought, was that.

Then, last Thursday, Kari forwarded me a series of email exchanges she had had with the agency inquiring about the status of the little boy. Sitting at work, reading these emails, I was rattled. Needless to say, we had a long and serious discussion that night with the predictable result that Kari got her way.

I shouldn't put it that way. Kari was really already in love. She couldn't help herself. Dashing her hopes at that point would have been cruel.

But still, I was disappointed. While Kari had been carrying a picture of this boy around in her head for the past month, I had been picturing a hypothetical baby girl. It's really strange how emotionally invested you can get in just the idea of something. It was hard for me to explain to Kari that even though our prospective girl might not even have been born yet, I already felt committed. This sudden shift in focus felt like a betrayal to me.

That was Thursday night. Within twenty-four hours (actually, more like two) I was completely turned around. Kari's enthusiasm is infectious and now we're both devoted to our son (our son!). We visited friends Doug and Julie in Michigan this weekend and spent most of our time playing with Will and Audrey (their 1- and 3-yr-old) and absorbing as much parenting advice as we could. Plus we spent most of the travel time thinking of boy names: Benjamin it is.

We still have some work to do with the adoption process, not to mention all the other preparation: setting up a room, buying clothes, etc. The twelve months that we thought we had to prepare has suddenly shrunk dramatically. Part of the problem is that we don't know what our timeframe is now: 6 months? 2 months? The agency is reluctant to give us a timeframe until we are closer to being approved, but at the same time, they are also very reassuring.

And we have to keep reminding ourselves that it's still not a sure thing yet, but we're making progress.

Kinda Like Phil Donohue, But Not Really

President George Bush travelled to Rochester today, stumping for Social Security reform. More precisely, he spoke at a high school in Greece, one of the more conservative suburbs in the area.

The speech seems to have been made in his typical talk-show-style format where he gets to field softball questions and play up his folksy side. That wasn't going to be enough to win over all (or even most) Rochestarians, though, as we had our share of protesters and arrests.

Whatever. I'm sure that Linda will have an update with the Greece perspective on things. Meanwhile, I should note that, as a part of their extensive coverage, the D&C has upgraded their "man-on-the-street" reports to an audio version for the cool internet kids.

But Please Don't Name It "The Trump Trade Center"

I'm with Matt w/r/t Trump's World Trade Center proposal.

I'm not a NYC-dweller, so what do I know, but it seems to me that the squabbling over the existing design process is doing more to prolong, rather than heal, the pain wrought by 9/11.

Customize Your Google

Now you can personalize the white space on your google search page.

Of course, the idea is not new, but the functionality is wicked cool. Customize placement of your menus by dragging them around the screen.

All Jack, All the Time

Rochester has a brand new radio station: 93.3 WFKL, aka "Fickle." This morning's Democrat and Chronicle reports that the station formerly known as WBBF has changed their format from "all oldies, all-the-time" to "random radio."

The new format--which for some strange reason is also known as "Jack"--is an apparent attempt to compete with satellite radio, internet radio, and iPod users with its intentionally schizophrenic programming style. At least, that's the story according to the recent surge of (print) media attention that's begun focussing on the new trend.

So I listened to it on my way home from work today, and I heard Sarah McLachlan, Billy Joel, Tony Orlando, Billy Ocean, the BeeGees, ChumbaWumba, Janis Joplin, and Joan Osbourne. Yet, it doesn't matter how mixed-up the playlist is, it's never going to match the randomness pf the playlist on my personal iPod. And that's understandable. Just like most oldies radio, these brodcasters are banking on nostalgia, which, almost by definition, has to appeal to a broad common denominator.

Some on the radio message boards seem to believe that a stable of online personalities is the only thing that can keep the jack¹ format afloat. This is undoubtedly a large part of the success of the truly eclectic radio that can be heard at stations such as KCRW and WFMU, where you feel like you are listening to the dj's private collection (in some instances, this is literally the case).

But still, the automated jack stations don't need huge ratings. They are operating with almost no staff in most markets. They are raking it in right now by riding what seems to me to be mostly a gimmick. And this is the major problem with the format, one which will keep me from tuning in: the advertising. Almost a third of my commute home was consumed by commercials.

All this means that I'll be switching back to our local NPR station. Next week, that is, after the current fund drive is over.

Adoption - Nearing End of Phase One

Phase One I'm defining as the filling out of paperwork in preparation for the home study. Kari has been on a tear, filling out every form as it comes in and turning them around to the adoption agency, in most cases, within a day. Twice, Kari stayed up until 2AM to complete forms so they could be sent out immediately.

This is one of the advantages to being married to an attorney: you have someone who can fill out the forms without panicking--and there are a ton of forms. Plus, it seems like everything has to be notarized and/or stamped by some govenrment agency. We've had to produce birth certificates, marriage certificates, police background checks, fingerprints, proof of employment, medical exams, personal references, etc. Everyone we've dealt with on the form-filing-out end of things has been very accomodating (and in some cases enthusiastic), something we truly appreciate.

There are a few loose ends to tie up: I need to have my passport renewed, we're waiting for birth certificates to be "exemplified" (something that involves a stamp of approval from the Department of State), and I need a medical exam. After that, we have our home study and then we send our application over to China for approval. This waiting phase will be the hardest part.

Thanks to everyone who has shared pictures with us, and thanks for the support and well wishes. It really means a lot to us.

HundRoboterFußball

Wired reported today on the RoboCup US Open that just concluded. The RoboCup is an international series of matches that are comprised of a range of robot competitions, including several different flavors of robot soccer, one of which is robot dog soccer, featuring teams of Sony Aibo robots.

Eager to see some footage of this phenomenon, I found my way to the home page of the winning team, the Microsoft Hellhounds (based in Germany). They don't have anything from the US Open posted yet, but there is an archive of matches from previous competitions. I've only watched a few, but my favorite so far is the first half of the German Open Semi Final from earlier this year.

BTW, the RoboCup German Open site also has a video montage of the entire competition (with a snappy techno soundtrack).

Should Be the Least of Her Worries

Wired has a follow-up article on this past weekend's Time Traveler Convention in which one attendee expresses relief at not having met a one-legged future version of herself.

Sonny Rollins, Colossus

So I've been listening closely to Saxophone Colossus for the first time in a long time, and I'm remembering what I like about Sonny Rollins¹. His playful, yet commanding presence is gripping. It grips me from the opening notes of the opening track, "St. Thomas."

Then, after getting a hint of this from aworks, today I receive my copy of this week's New Yorker, and there's a profile written by Stanley Crouch² that traces Rollins' life through triumph, despair, rebirth, periods of artistic success, and periods of self-doubt. I realize that my only cds of Rollins as a bandleader are of his early recordings, all during the 50's. According to Crouch, some of Rollins' most innovative music occurred in his return from self-imposed exile on The Bridge, his soundtrack for the movie Alfie, and his free jazz treatment of several standards in On Impulse!, all recorded during the 60's.

Crouch has faint praise for anything Rollins has recorded since then, but he does pique my interest by praising his live performances, in which Rollins, "when he's on,...seems immense, summoning the entire history of jazz, capable of blowing a hole through the wall."

All of this has me scrambling for my mouse, ready to click on the TicketMaster link to his upcoming concert at the Rochester Jazz Fest. Which, really, there's no excuse for having waited this long.

A Rift in the Space-Time Continuum

This weekend's first ever¹ Time Traveler Convention is a bad idea.

Hey, don't get wrong, it sounds like it would be (will have been?) a great party, but I'm not sure the organizers have thought through all of the ramifications of thousands (millions? billions? quintillions?) of time travelers converging simultaneously on the MIT campus in search of convention tchotchkes.

Bird Orgy

In what has become a decades-old tradition at Harvard, in January and May during reading and exam periods students listening to campus radio are treated to "marathon-style musical programs devoted to a single composer, performer, genre, or subject." These are known (and tradmarked) as Orgies.

Right now they are in the middle of an Orgy dedicated to the Russian composers known as the Mighty Five. But the real fun begins on Monday at noon with a non-stop, 84-hour orgy devoted to Charlie Parker.

Check it out at the WHRB mp3 stream.

Or, if music marathons aren't your style, David Byrne hosts an eclectic mp3 stream that is almost the exact opposite of an orgy.

Ten Hours of Application Form-Filling

The response to our little announcement earlier this week has been overwhelming. It seems my readership has quadrupled overnight thanks to the family grapevine. Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes.

Kari and I went to a basic informational meeting hosted by our chosen adoption agency. Meeting is probably the wrong word, though. Our host had a Powerpoint slide presentation all queued up, when the main attraction arrived just as she was about to start. It was a couple who had adopted a Chinese girl in October and had brought their now 18-month old daughter along. They warned us that the application process was nothing short of arduous, but that every single minute was worth it, a point that hardly needed to be made as their little girl toddled around the room, walking up to each person with a grin on her face before turning and running back to her mother with a squeal of glee.

So the next day, our first application packet arrived in the mail and we got to see exactly what she was talking about. A basic questionnaire and various disclaimers (most requiring notarization) were accompanied by a checklist of other things we needed to begin gathering, such as valid passports, fingerprints, birth certificates, photographs, and cetera. Motivated by the sight of the little girl we met, Kari dove right in, putting in ten hours of time filling out paperwork between Friday and Saturday.

Oh, so the photographs we need to send are going to the Chinese government to help them choose a daughter for us. We have been advised that for cultural reasons, they don't like to see pets in the pictures. Unfortunately, almost every picture we have has a dog or a cat in it somewhere. If anyone out there has some nice, recent pictures of Kari and I that they would be willing to share, please drop me a line. Thanks!

UPDATE: Make sure you check out Kari's comments for her perspective on all this!