sobo

re the archaeologist, you refer to "The Chase", episode #20 in the 6th season of TNG, first aired April 24, 1993. Norman Lloyd is the actor, as Professor Richard Galen. However, ivan, I must rebutt your earlier statement that this particular person (Lloyd) had recurring roles in various Star Trek offerings. This episode was his only appearance in any Star Trek production. Kurtwood Smith, by contrast, has made appearances in three different roles in the various Star Trek series (ST: Voyager, ST: Deep Space 9) and movies (ST VI: The Undiscovered Country). And yes, Dan, that did take a little bit of research, but it was a crappy weather day and the kids have been occupied with all their new toys anyway.

wrong on all 3 counts - the 2 actors are guys and the film is a rather depressing drama (hmm well i suppose so is fisher too) Then you are referring to Kurtwood Smith as the fed president, and the Robin Williams movie is Dead Poets Society. So there! And The Fisher King was actually a fantasy/comedy/drama/romance, and I thought it was "funny" in a dark sort of way. A good movie, yes.

The archaeologist is Vaash (Jennifer Hetrick), that tasty wench that is always romping around the galaxy stealing artifacts and trying to get Picard in the sack. The fed pres, eh? This'll take some time, or it's so obvious it's hitting me over the head. I think that you may be thinking of "Q" (John de Lancie) and the episode where he shows up as a high-ranking Starfleet admiral in full dress uniform. Is that it? So if that's the two, then the Robin Williams movie must be The Fisher King, no?

OK, Sobo, are you joking or what? Extra credit if you tell us who the US Gov't mole is on cc.com. Well, I was actually kidding about the phone call, but three very strange things really did happen to me today after I posted that: 1. I can receive email on my workstation from anyone, but now I can only reply to folks who are on my work's email server. I couldn't email you right now (from work) if I wanted to. Never happened before; wierd, huh? 2. The 1-800 numbers that I use for communicating with my other company offices are now all "...blocked from your area code - Error #12-4." Never happened before; pretty strange, don't you think? 3. The keys for my office's streetside mailbox (you know, those "multi-box" metal contraptions that show up in new subdivisions alot) don't work anymore. They worked fine yesterday. Now, this one creeps me out the most. So whaddaya think? Am I being "observed" under the FISA? Did George get a warrant yet? I'm afraid to leave for home...

Almost every construction site in the continental US will be unusually quiet and deserted this weekend. Let your imagination run...

Got it already, just after lunch today. Those cloak-n-dagger guys don't waste any time at all getting on this stuff. PROTECT YOURSELF ON CC.COM!!!

Sadly, Dan, only a little. I had to look up the year and the episode title. I remembered the episode plot, the lines, the actor, and the character's name. I am a nerd; hear me roar. You might also remember that Paul Winfield was Captain Terrell of the USS Reliant in the 1982(??) movie, "Star Trek, Wrath of Khan" and was Lt. Traxler in the first Terminator movie. Did you know that Lt. Traxler's assistant was Lance Henriksen? "Bishop" in the "Alien" movie series and the guy who was some sort of psychic in the "Millenium" TV series on Fox about 10 years ago. Does it show, just a little, that I just like these guys?

Yep, TNG, with Paul Winfield as Captain Dathon, the guy talking in metaphors, in the 1991 episode called "Darmok".

I wonder how much interaction young Osama had with his father? At least a little, and at least some time ago. My dad had several dinners with MBL (OBL's dad), at which a young OBL was always at the dinner table. This was back in the late 1960's (shortly before MBL's death) when my dad was in the USACoE and doing project management work for ARAMCO in Saudi Arabia. MBL was the sole Catepillar equipment dealer in Saudi Arabia, and hence the relationship between my dad and OBL's dad. My dad commented to me some time later that it could have been very easy for our family and the Bin Laden's to have been friends. If my family had travelled with my dad to SA instead of staying in Washington while he was on TDY, I probably would have been a schoolchum of OBL. Now that's just plain wierd, and too close in terms of degrees of separation.

So, where're those pics?

I traditionally use the term Ramahannukwanzmas. It seems to cover most of the bases. I soooooooooo hate all this PC bullshit

edited by sobo to add: DOH! Just noticed the date on the last post above. But seriously, this REI thing was just last week or so, like December 16th or sump'in. There was also a recent article in the Seattle Times in the outdoor section (Off Trail or somesuch section??) that said that REI was also collecting serviceable tents, parkas, and clothing for the Pakistan earthquake victims. There was to be a presentation by three or four Mountain Gods (Big Lou, Wickwire, Swenson, Viesturs, etc.) with a $10 suggested donation, and to bring your goodies in for shipment to Pakistan. It was being organized through the Pakistan Mountaineering Club or something like that. I took some stuff to my local REI here in the Dustbowl, but they didn't know what I was talking about.

You're spot on, kurt. I took Dru's "fad" comment with that same (common) definition in mind. I posted a long dissertation last night explaining my response to Dru's comments, and went on a bit about why I was defensive about the issue. I think, although I haven't heard explicitly so from him (and I guess I really don't need to), that Dru and I are all patched up now. I harbor no ill will towards Dru or anyone else on this board over this issue, and I consider the matter closed. So you all please feel free to disfigure any Barbie dolls you guys might receive this year! I wish everyone on this board a very Happy Ramahanakwanzmas! PS: kurt, we all got home safely, and I was the only one in our travel group of seven couples that didn't get the shits ever. And I ate every damn thing in front of me, most of which I still have no idea what it was. Now that's a dirtbag's stomach for ya!

Dru – Firstly, only my son is from Vietnam, where we adopted him three years ago next month. My new daughter is from China, from whence we just returned with her last week. I don’t expect you or anyone else on this site to keep up on my family’s daily affairs, but if by chance you had come across the “So Happy I Want To Share It” thread in Spray over the past three months, then you would know that my new daughter was born in China. When you opined that North Americans adopting from China is some kind of “fad”, I took offense to that comment since my wife and I live in North America and we adopted our daughter from China. We met the criteria (that you set forth) for determining that adopting from China is a fad by your own admission. While you may not have explicitly stated that we were being trendy, your criteria and the fact that we meet those criteria categorically put us in what you described as a fad. I put two and two together and came up with four. Apparently, I added wrong. We did not do this thing in order to be trendy. My wife and I are not trendy people. Ask anyone who has climbed with me how old my gear is, or whether I wear shorts over polypro on glacier slogs or not, and what my hair/clothes/vehicle/etc. looks like, and the answer will become quite clear. Secondly, minx said it better than I could in her first paragraph at the top of the page ^^, perhaps because she’s operating on a bit more sleep than I am right now, or perhaps because she's a better person than me. China is extremely popular with adoptive parents because the process is so structured and consistent. Every little detail has been thought out and tested, revised, and retested to the point that it’s basically like getting on a amusement park ride. You just pay a bunch of money, get in, shut up, hold on, and when the ride’s over, you get out with your kid. It was not at all that way when we adopted Nicholas from Vietnam three years ago. We didn’t even get him on the day we were supposed to. We thought we had dome something wrong in an earlier meeting with the orphanage director, or that we had somehow unwittingly violated some cultural taboo, of which there are many, and we weren’t even sure that we were ever going to see him again after that. It is not that way with China adoptions. So yes, China is popular with adoptive families precisely because of the predictability of the process, and that just makes good common sense for adoptive parents. Thirdy, I agree with snugtop and her opinion. When people start adopting kids from a country just because some celebrity did it, then that constitutes a fad in my opinion. Lastly, yes I did take your “fad” comment initially as an insult, whether it was intended as such or not, and for that I apologize. Why did I do that? Let me try to explain: Adoptive parents are constantly running into people who don’t understand that adopted kids are the same as biological kids in every way except genes. Are we as parents defensive about that? Yes, I guess you could say we are. Why? Let’s just say that we want to protect our kids from clueless individuals who don’t understand what might go through a young person’s mind when the term “adopted” keeps getting thrown around in conversations that are clearly centered about them. Children are insecure by nature. Orphans are even more so. There is no sense in subjecting them to additional insecurity when people start questioning their genealogy. I can’t tell you how many times in the past three years, when I’ve been out with my son, someone comes up to us and strikes up a conversation that ultimately ends up going something like this: Them: “Wow, he’s a <cute/bright/smart/whatever attribute you want to insert> kid. Is he yours?” Me: “Yes, he is.” Them: “No, I mean, is he yours?” Me: Yes, he is my son.” A short pause… then, Them: “Is your wife Asian?” Me: “No, she’s Irish.” Them: “Hmmm, he looks Asian.” Me: “He was born in Vietnam.” Most people wander off at this point, convinced that I am an asshole and am being deliberately obtuse about my son’s lineage. The nosey ones continue... Them: “Could you not have kids of your own?” Me: “He is my own. He was just born in Vietnam.” Them: “So he’s adopted, right?” Me: “As I said, he’s my son.” I do not desire to distinguish for the sole benefit of strangers, in the presence of my son, that he is in some way different, “special”, or any less of a person because he is adopted. When my son is old enough to understand the concept of adoption, we will explain it to him. It will serve no purpose at this point in his life to try to explain to him that his birth parents did not want him or could not care for him. He will never know his birth parents. There is no information or records on them that would allow us, or him, to ever find them. The same can be said for our new daughter. One day, when they are older, we will take them back to the countries of their birth, and show them the heritage that is theirs. That is the best that we can do in regards to keeping them in touch with their origins, besides reading to them about their birthplaces. When Nicholas is troubled or feeling insecure, he asks us to tell him the story of how we came to Vietnam to “pick him up and bring him home.” It is his favorite story, it’s all true, and he loves every word of it. I hope that this explanation has helped more than just a few readers understand... I will now step down from the soapbox.

That is well-documented, and the same can be said of Eastern European (Ukrainian orphans tend to have a high incidence of FAS) babies. But does that make it a fad? South American orphans tend to have a high incidence of drug dependency due to their (typically) agrarian mothers chewing coca leaves. So is that why it's not a fad (as determined by you) to adopt SA babies? Well, I have news for you... It is currently a relatively straightforward and highly structured process to adopt a kid from China. Americans like things with no surprises and all the particulars spelled out. That's why so many American couples (and singles, too) look to China for international adoptions. Oh, and could it also be that there appears to be a never ending supply of babies there needing a home and parents to love them? But it couldn't be that, could it?

It beats the alternative of adopting kids Stateside, where our legal system allows you to raise what should be considered as YOUR KID until his/her late teens, then the biological parents (read: loozerz) show up to "claim their prize" and take your kid away from you. THAT'S WHY so many people adopt internationally, because THAT WON'T HAPPEN. If you care to recall, our son was adopted from Viet Nam. Is that a fad now, too, by your definition? What about Guatemala? India? Ukraine? Are those locations not "fad-ish" enough to be deemed trendy by you? Are you now the arbiter of all that is haute couture? Hmm? I guess I should just chalk it up to being back home at cc.com

I find that comment disingenuous, even for you, Drew. American families have been adopting Chinese babies for well over a decade. By definition, that's no longer a fad or a craze. Grow up.

On a tangential note, one thing we found disturbing in China during our recent trip to adopt our baby daughter, was that at the White Swan Hotel in Gwangzhou, our final stop before departure for the States, the hotel staff gives you a Barbie doll (Caucasian, and complete with long legs and high fashion skirt/clothing) holding a baby daughter (Chinese, yellow skin, black hair), complete in a sealed case suitable for display. Like it was some kind of fad or something to adopt Chinese kids. It was creepy...

I'll weigh in before I leave the country... I lived in IF for two years, from 1973 to 1975. I was an 8th and 9th grader then. The Mormons back then were pretty aggressive in trying to convert the rest of us heathens. But we got over it after a while. Mormon dads won't let their prescious little daughters date Catholic boys, so my "early adolescent development" was somewhat delayed in certain areas... Skiing is the bomb at Grand Targhee. Just beyond that, over the pass is Jackson Hole and Yellowstone, if you can afford that touron area. There is a shithole ski area called Kelly Canyon on the Idaho side of the pass that is the closest skiing to IF (30 years ago). There is decent spin-cast fishing along the Snake River a few miles bike ride south of town, and the best fly fishing I have ever experienced (and that was when I was 15 years old - a LONG time ago with lots of data points in between) was north of town a fair piece, along Birch Creek; pan-sized native rainbows - real fighters! The Big Lost and Little Lost Rivers are up that way, too. And you start to get into the Bitteroot Mountains (IIRC) up that way. To the east of town and up in the hills is Willow Creek, also with good fishing, and it makes a great (road) bike ride into the mountains from that side of town. To the west of town about 60 miles is the 'burg of Arco and the INEL site, a nuclear wasteland much like our own Hanford site. It makes for a good, flat, bike ride for a road bike, but there is nothing really close by that would qualify as good mountain biking terrain. The biggest thing I hated about living in IF is that it is really flat, because it sits in the middle of a lava plain formed tens of thousands of years ago. And the place is seriously fucking windy. I think they have probably 3 days/year where the wind doesn't blow. The constant winds make it a real effort to bike anywhere, which at 14 and 15 years old was my only mode of personal transport back then, but I managed to get out and around quite a bit even so. But there are bars (not that I could go in them back then, but I knew they had them), and a pervasive Mormon presence, but it's like any other town out west. If you are looking to get outta Jersey, I should think there would be worse places to settle. Gotta go, the plane bound for China leaves really goddamn early! Asta!

Well, tomorrow is the Big Day. We head for China first thing in the morning, and hopefully we'll see you all back here after the middle of December. Please visit the kids' site (address in post immediately above - it's working perfectly now) and leave a message in the guestbook. Desn't have to be anything profound or drenched in scholarly wisdom; just a note would be great. We're taking our laptop, so we'll be uploading our journals to the kids' site on a daily basis, or at least as often as we can get an internet connection. That's gonna have to be my TR, because I seriously doubt that I'll have any time after we get back, what with TWO young'ns in tow! See you all next month!

I always thought my dream job would be something like a professional wine taster by day, and a mattress tester by night. So you'd get paid 24 hours/day to get drunk and screw (or sleep, at least).

That Sam "thing" is just plain evil. Spawn of Evil Incarnate.

Thanks for the sentiments, Brad. Ya know, I don't think a train ever went by the whole time we were there. Unusual... The wife has set up a website for anyone who wants to follow our trip. We will be taking a laptop to write up our journals on a daily basis, and we will uploading to the site whenever we can get access to the internet conveniently. There's also a guestbook, if any of you all are into signing those kinda things. The kids' site is www.NicholasandElaina.com Looks like a lot of the site is working, but she may still be testing it...

OK, here it is... 520358-sobo1.pdf

Why isn't the date on Dru's post updating? The header in the post shows August 6 of '03, but in the Spray thread list, it shows November 18, 2005. WTF??? Shit, now I obliterated the evidence with my post...