Many of you know that my wife and I are in the process of adopting a child from China. One thing we quickly learning about the adoption community was its almost global embracing of digital journaling.

When most people think of an adoption, they have vision of fast celebrity adoptions. And while that may be the case in the private adoptions that most celebrities do, for the average user it is typically a multi-year process.

It stands to reason then that journal play in important role in the journey laid ahead of adoptive parents. To that end I have purchased the LadyBugBlogs.com domain and plan to begin development of a WordPress Mu based multi-user blogging system.

My idea is to provide a community blogging solution with features and themes tailored to the adoptive parents needs and desires. China and other Asian adoptions are focus group for LadybugBlogs.com.

The Ladybug in an important symbol in China adoptions, its incorporation into the blog domain name seemed only fitting.

The recent announcement by the dictionary powerhouse Merriam-Webster that the 2007 Word of the Year would be — w00t has caused some to say WTF? Twenty words were chosen for the Word of the Year vote, and “w00t” took home the honors.

The Webster Online definition of w00t will be:

1. w00t (interjection)
expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all); similar in use to the word “yay”w00t! I won the contest!
Submitted by: Kat from Massachusetts on Nov. 30, 2005 23:18

Being chosen only ensures that “w00t” will appear in the online version of the dictionary, however there is always the possibility that it could make the printed version.

Upon hearing of the literary gnashing of teeth over w00t, amused people around the world responded with LOL.

Note: This topic assigned to Technology due to the Hacker/DnD origin of the word “w00t”

Online games are a diversion that have caused me to spend obscene amounts of time online in virtual worlds grinding away to reach the ever dangling carrot in front of my characters nose.

It all started with Everquest. Back then massive multi-player online games (MMORPG) were relatively new on a scale like Everquest offered. Logging in was for the first time was sweetly euphoric.

It wasn’t long before Everquest was dubbed “Evercrack”. Reports would start to trickle in of people committing suicide, dropping out of school, jobs being lost, relationships being ruined.

The mere suggestion of addiction caused players around the world to draw their swords and bare their teeth. I was one of those who denied it, debunked it and generally made fun of the mere suggestion.

To me it was an escape from reality; “Me time” was what I liked to call it, and it was something I justified by saying that I did it late at night when it wouldn’t impact my family time.

And yet it did affect me. People are not meant to get three or four hours of sleep, the body needs more. I of course argued to the contrary.

While the argument could hold true for the occasional late night, when done repeatedly almost every day for years on end, the result was a cranky, perpetually tired, prone to falling asleep me.

So much for not affecting family time. It also caused a feeling of separation to grow between my wife and I. That close special bond we had began to stretch with each night of online game play. It would end up being stretched thin and to the breaking point.

Worse still was the addictive nature of it all, it consumed my thoughts and was something I wanted to do whenever I had free time. It called to me, I longed for it. If that isn’t addiction I don’t know what is. But had you asked me if I was addicted back then, the answer would have been a vehement answer of no.

Eventually I did quit Everquest only to move to Star Wars Galaxies. A game that appealed to me because unlike Everquest which required large group play at the high levels (play which I could no do due to early start time requirements), Star Wars Galaxies did not. One could reach the pinnacle of being a Jedi on their own.

Hot damn! That was enough for me. What they didn’t mention was that the grind to that goal would be worse than the grind in Everquest ever was, about a solid year or more was wasted climbing my way to become a dark Jedi knight.

But if there is one constant in the online gaming world, it is the ability of the player base to whine and complain. And with Galaxies the whining was eventually heard, and the game changed where anyone could be a Jedi from the get go. You can imagine my frustration at seeing my time and effort go down the tubes. I quit in protest.

And went to World of Warcraft. A game that was what Everquest dreamed of being, well designed, interesting quests, great player versus player play, and yet another hill to climb.

Eventually despite WoW’s enhancements I hit the same high level requirement for group play to advance. About this time I received another wake up call that all of this gaming had severely strained my relationship with my wife.

I quit WoW cold turkey and have not played it since (going on 1y 6 months). Recently I decided to give EVE Online a try at the urging of my friend Phil (a past WoW addict like myself).

Unlike every other game I have played, advancement is not contingent on grinding. The skill system is time based. Start training something and it will say it will be completed in x days or y hours.

With that pressure to advance removed, and given the fact that it is about the least social game I have ever played, I am left without the addictive feelings or drive to play that permeated the other games.

My wife is as you can imagine skeptical, past memories have forever left a permanent bad taste in her mouth and I can’t blame her. All I can do going forward is to show her that this game isn’t like the others through action, or in this case inaction (not playing). I know I am different than I was back then, I am happier and healthier than I have been in years and I will not hesitate to drop EVE in a heartbeat if has any indication of changing that status.

There is no doubt in my mind that the blog revolution has forever changed the face of digital publishing. No longer is one required to be a designer, or ever have an ounce of understanding of web publishing to create visually appealing content easily and with a minimal amount of effort.

Blogs like people come in many shapes and sizes, while some may choose to use them as a digital diary or journal, others see them as an easy way to share family updates with friends and family. Have something you feel strongly about? Have something you want to rant about? Have some great art or photos you want to showcase? No problem. Start a blog.

Blogs let us easily publish our feelings, moods, thoughts, desires, art, photos and just about anything else that comes to mind.

You may be reading this thinking — Yeah… thank you Captain Obvious for stating something that is well, obvious! Had I just read this on another blog, I too would have the same thought. However, there is a reason for my reflection.

This weekend we attended a social event, in the course of getting up to date with friends a lady we know expressed confusion over this site, she was looking for family updates and wondered if we had a “family” blog.

I was a bit stunned, in my mind eleven22.org was a personal blog, in my definition of “personal” it included a wide variety of topics, including posts about family, flickr photos etc.

I was quite possibly the first time that I ever actually stopped to consider that others might now perceive eleven22.org in the same way that I did.

Yes, it was an incredibly narcissistic view for me to hold. It took that simple act of befuddled confusion on the part of our dear friend to make me aware of it.

I don’t see eleven22.org changing in content or scope because of this revelation, but I will forever be more cognizant that other people might view it in a way other than I originally intended. Hopefully the result of this knowledge will be better written posts.

This has been a pretty excited time for Brotherhood of the Bean, my Coffee product & culture blog. For a long time I have worked to develop it into a coffee resource that offers valuable product and culture insights. In truth it has been a lot of fun.

Some time ago I became aware of the 9rules blog network, from what I saw I knew it was the community for me. The problem was that thousands of others had the same idea. So I decided to sit back and enjoy the community while I waited for my application to be reviewed.

Along the way I found some of the most interesting people on the web, and with the newly available notes feature, I could communicate my thoughts with them. I thought it was pretty cool.

You can imagine my pride and excitement when I was invited to become a member. To have Brotherhood of the Bean recognized as being being of a high enough caliber for 9rules means a lot to me.

For those of you wondering what 9rules is all about:
9rules is a place where members and readers can connect, build relationships, gain exposure, learn new things, and have fun. 9rules started in 2003 with a set of 9 rules:

1. Love what you do.
2. Never stop learning.
3. Form works with function.
4. Simple is beautiful.
5. Work hard, play hard.
6. You get what you pay for.
7. When you talk, we listen.
8. Must constantly improve.
9. Respect your inspiration.

I really have no respect for our President any more. His latest antics over the $35 billion expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) was the last straw in a long line antics on his part that made me utter — “What a fucking asshole.”

He huffed, he puffed, he said he would veto it, but in the end it was all just one man’s attempt to bully the Congress into backing down. And why?

What is $35 billion when compared to a pending $189 billion request for Iraq & Afghanistan in 2008? And how was this $35 billion to be paid for? Increase in my taxes? No.

By an increase in the federal tobacco tax from 39 cents to $1 a pack. What better way to have something that kills people pay for health care for children. As a Father I know how important being able to get medical treatment for my son is.

I can only imagine the panic that I would feel if I found myself in that grey zone of income where I made too much to qualify for public aid, but not enough to afford insurance. Hell a simple trip to the ER could end up costing $5-6k for something simple. What will a parent say? No son, we can’t afford to take you to a doctor.

Its insane, this president is out of control. In the end he signed it. He had to, his pet project (the war) forced him to. The sad thing is that he will have a legacy, the world will remember him, just not in the way that he thinks it will.

I was just listening to a NPR piece about the mentally ill in the prison system and how completely unequipped the system is to be taking care of them. Best estimates put the number of mentally ill peoiple in prison at 330k. The story I heard chronicled a mother’s loss of her 21 year bi-polar son while waiting for a rehab bed in a county jail.

It was heart wrenching, I kept having nightmarish visions of what the future holds for my son. I have no reason to believe therre will ever (knock on wood) be anything wrong with him, but the “What Ifs.. ” were having a heyday in my head.

I grew up in Elgin, IL — home of the Elgin Mental Health Center, once a spawling metropolis of mental health care, the potential location of the University of Illinois or for a mental facility. Great choice guys. Anyway, I digress.

I have an uncle who used to be on their fire department, yes they had an actual fire department just for the facility. He watched it slowly be cut down in size, go into disrepair and generally decline faster than anyone could shake a fist at.

Growing up I never cared, it was an eyesore. An uncomfortable place that our high school football team practiced (you have not lived until you are doing a football run and have a naked black man running along side of you, lol — true story!). And I don’t really think that the city cared either, by then it was an eyesore, an testiment to one gigantice bad choice.

But after hearing that story I have to wonder how much more of a disservice was done to not only those people in the facility, but to those who were put into the system instead of a place that could help with their mental health?

Again, I keep thinking of those “What If” situations and those poor mothers, fathers and children stuck living in a personal hell that our country has made a reality. I guess this is just a topic too disturbing to face head on, we as a society are much more interested in hearing about the plight of poor Paris Hilton.

What happened to us as a nation? We used to be great, I fear that we have lost the edge that our grandparents and great grandparents had that made us great. I love America, so that is hard to say. Its time we get our act together. Rant mode : /off

When the world kicks you squarely in the balls, take a minute to watch this music video. I can’t guarantee what sort of effect it will have on you, or whether you will even like it. I suspect its a lot like Napoleon Dynamite, you either think its the greatest movie ever or a colossal piece of crap.

If you find yourself in the later group, well… my reply to you is contained within the music video. Without further delay..