Red Letter Day

iPhone Hacks book review

2009-04-12T17:53:00.001-05:00

iPhone Hacks
by David Jurick and Adam and Damien Stolarz
O'Reilly, 459 pages, $34.99

The iPhone is an amazing portable computer. It features capabilities that twenty years ago would have been something out of the pages of science fiction. Instant communications access with anyone in the world, the ability to seamlessly access the corpus of human knowledge that is the Internet, and of course, an ability to be entertained by music, video and games limited only by your imagination.

Almost.

The iPhone, as shipped by Apple, is a wonderful device for 95% of its users. But Apple locks iPhone users into a gilded cage. The cage is sumptuously decorated, but it is still a jail cell. You are limited to using your iPhone in ways Apple approves of. "The man" (or Steve Jobs) decides what applications you can run and what capabilities your phone has. Like a bridled horse, the iPhone is docile, but unleashed, it could do so much more!

To really set the iPhone free, you need to "hack" it. Once you do this, your phone becomes the powerful computer it is meant to be, and you can run much more diverse software, giving your phone new abilities, like being able to record videos, customize the user interface, emulate popular video game consoles, and send and receive multimedia messages. You can even give your phone the ability to act as a wi-fi "access point" to the internet for your laptop, and unlock the phone to use on other carriers.

"iPhone Hacks" by David Jurick and Adam and Damien Stolarz is your guide into this brave new world. The authors act as friendly guide into the world of iPhone customization. This book is not meant for beginners; the authors assume both some technical computer knowledge and a curious nature. Some of the software-based "hacks" can be done by any experienced user, but other hacks require programming and even hardware "breadboard" skills, such as handiness with a soldering iron.

The authors first explains some of the basics of the iPhone operating system, including its history, the phone's boot process, and how the file system is put together, which is an excellent overview, before they head into the basics of "jailbreaking," which is the process where you use some simple software tools to open your phone's operating system up to customization.

I should note that many of the hacks in this book require the jailbreaking process, which, contrary to its name, is neither illegal nor very difficult. There are several hacks which do not require jailbreaking, however, these are more in the vein of "power user tips" rather then true hacks. It is worth noting that Apple will not provide warranty services to jailbroken phones - luckily, if anything goes wrong, it is very easy to "restore" your phone to pristine condition before seeking warranty service.

The actual hacks are divided into various sections by theme. The first two thirds of the book is all software-focused, and as such accessible to those without programming or hardware hacking skills. For example, there are sections on using the phone as a multimedia devices, sections on enhancing the camera and video recording functions, as well as sections on topics such as SMS messaging, gaming, and user interface customization. Any of these sections can be accessed in an ad-hoc manner; there is no need to go in order after the initial chapter on the jailbreak process itself. Simple pick the topic you are interested in and dive in. It is easy to browse the book to get an idea of what the iPhone can do, and all of the chapters are very clearly explained, with excellent use of screenshots and supplementary information to guide you in the process.

The final third of the book covers both application programming, and actual hardware hacking, including how to disassemble and reassemble your phone. Many of the hacks in this section are very entertaining to read about (and fairly useless in a practical sense), especially since it would take someone way braver then me to actually crack open my phone's case! The programming section is a useful introduction to both the official Apple-provided way to program for the iPhone as well as the unofficial ways to get access to private APIs and methods which can be used to program applications that could never make it into the App Store.

More controversially, "iPhone Hacks" also describes the process to "unlock" your iPhone (this is different then "jailbreaking") so you can use it on a carrier other then AT&T. This information is presented fairly and accurately, with both the risks and rewards clearly outlined for those users who may need to use an iPhone on another carrier. The book also describes how to activate tethering, where you can use your iPhone as an internet access point for your laptop. This may violate your contract with your carrier, but the book doesn't moralize here; it simply describes the "hack" and leaves the decision as to how to use the information up to you, the reader, which is as it should be.

Overall, this is an amazing book, clearly and thoroughly describing the dozens of ways you can truly make your iPhone your own. It manages to cover challenging information fairly and accurately in a manner that will appeal to any adventurous, curious and technically-minded reader. Even if you never plan to do anything other then the tamest "hacks" to your iPhone, browsing this book will teach you a lot about your phone as a computer, and leave you stimulated and fascinated.

Rating: 5 out of 5 DogCows
Plusses: A through and interesting book on how to expand the iPhone's universe
Minuses: None

This review was cross-posted at the Lawrence Apple Users Group web page.

Dave and I were on "The 10th Voice"

2009-02-21T22:47:00.003-06:00

Dave and I were guest on the KKFI (Kansas City 90.1 FM) radio program "The 10th Voice" today. Ourselves, along with another couple from Lawrence talked about our relationship and our legal marriage, and how it has affected us. We think it turned out really nice. If you missed the show when it was on the air, you can listen here:

http://www.mikesilverman.com/kkfi_mike_dave.mp3

Two new movie ideas

2009-01-14T16:47:00.000-06:00

1. Steve Jobs is dying. He has his best engineers build his consciousness into the next version of MacOS, Snow Leopard. As the distributed network that is now Jobs becomes stronger (as more copies of Snow Leopard are sold), Jobs becomes evil and plots to take over the world. An all-star team of top geeks (starring Angelina Jolie as the chief engineer) figures out the only way to stop Jobs is to turn off every Mac in the world at the same time; now it's a race against the clock!

2. Steve Jobs is dying. He sees the evil of humanity and how we are not worthy of his beautiful creations, so he has himself cryogenically frozen for 1000 years. When he awakens, humanity has descended to a state of barbarism, and Jobs must raise humanity back up to civilization while also developing the cure for his disease before time runs out.

Review of John Birmingham's "Without Warning"

2008-12-25T22:11:00.003-06:00

Without Warning by John Birmingham

"Without Warning" is a science fiction/military fiction hybrid in the "kicking over anthills" school of thought (see also "Dies the Fire" by S.M. Stirling), where the author make some enormous change to the world and then lets things plays out as they may. It is not strictly alternate history, although some may categorize it as such. The premise is very simple: an energy field of unknown origin wipes out all life - and makes impenetrable - the majority of North America. In one fell swoop, the United States is no more. What happens to the rest of the world, including the remnants of the USA (mostly the military, ex-pats, and citizens of Hawaii, Alaska, and Seattle, which are outside the field)?

The book follows several groups of people as they make their way in this new world, including portions of the military, an ex-war reporter working for the BBC, the Seattle city engineer, a group of opportunistic pirates (almost, but not quite, with hearts of gold, of course!) and other various dramatis personae from around the world. Most fiction of this type doesn't deal with the in-depth motives of the players or deep character development, preferring to focus on the nitty-gritty of "what happens" and of course, action sequences. Rest assured, there is plenty of both -- excellent scenes of military activity, fighting, and general "weapons and warfare" goodness, but also a nice attention to some of the wider geo-political consequences of the excision of America from the globe (including the internal political struggles in what is left of the USA).

In short, everything goes to hell (what else did you expect) but the specific descriptions and vignettes of various disasters, such as the descent into madness in Acapulco, the initial "day after" in Paris, and a horrifying series of events in the Middle East right out of some "end of days" preacher's fantasy should give pause to nearly any reader, and certainly had me alternating between deep thought and plain old chills.

This is a damn good book, and anyone who enjoys military science fiction ought to enjoy it. There wasn't much I didn't like, although I would have liked perhaps a little more description of the wave itself, and its actual causes and effects, beyond a few early glimpses. This isn't a deal-killer by a long shot, the book isn't about the energy wave itself, except as a plot device -- the story is what happens to the rest of the world (and I suspect the wave itself will get further attention in future books in the series).

"Without Warning" is highly recommended.

A turd in the middle of my cake

2008-11-05T08:42:00.002-06:00

Got a wonderful delicious cake last night -- President-Elect Obama!

And then California went and crapped in the middle of it....with the passage of Proposition 8, which limits marriage in California to opposite-sex couples.

This sucks.

More thoughts later.

Books I have read lately

2008-09-19T15:04:00.003-05:00

Here are some brief reviews of books I have read recently:

The Grand Inquisitor's Manual: A History of Terror in the Name of God
by Jonathan Kirsch
A fascinating history of the inquisition and how it presaged the 20th century's atrocities. Very strong on the history, weaker in the author's attempt to tie the inquisition to present-day events

Throwing Fire: Projectile Technology through History
by Alfred W. Crosby
The anthropological history of humankind's development of projectile technology from the earliest stones to ballistic missiles. A unique mix of history and biology.

The Diamond of Darkhold: The Fourth Book of Ember (Books of Ember) and The Books of Ember
by Jeanne DuPrau
A post-apocalyptic series for younger readers about the world after a massive war; excellent characterization and plot, and truly a pleasure to read

13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time
by Michael Brooks
A good survey of thirteen current mysteries in the world of science, from physics to biology to evolution. Very sharp and smart.

Plague War
by Jeff Carlson
The second book in a two-book (so far) series on life on Earth after a nanobot plague. Some good action, but overall very confusing and uneven.

The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition
by James Howard Kunstler
An top-notch survey of the social and cultural trajectories of a dozen of the world's great cities, and how the choices they have made in development have affected their quality of life. Intelligent and with a wry sense of humor.

Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says about Us)
by Tom Vanderbilt
One of the best of the recent spate of books on mundane topics, in this case traffic engineering. The author's deft hands turn this topic into a fascinating study of human social behavior and will make anyone who drives think of things in an entirely different way.

The Man with the Iron Heart
by Harry Turtledove
The king of alt-history turns in a solid, workmanlike effort featuring the trademark Turtledove storytelling style; based on the fascinating premise of what would have happened if German had engaged in guerilla warfare after WWII, with obvious parallels to our Iraq situation.

Empires of Trust: How Rome Built--and America Is Building--a New World
by Thomas F. Madden
The author focuses on the overlooked Roman republican period, comparing the rise of Rome with the rise of America in the social and political arenas. A nice change of pace from the usual comparisons of the two cultures based on the Imperial period.

The Snake Charmer: A Life and Death in Pursuit of Knowledge
by Jamie James
A pleasantly entertaining biography of a renowned herpetologist and his tragic death. Good creepy descriptions of serpent natural history mixed with occasionally dramatic events.

The Valley-Westside War (Crosstime Traffic)
by Harry Turtledove
Another entry in Turtledove's juvenile series; this one is a pedestrian tale of life in LA a hundred plus years after a nuclear war. Mildly entertaining, but one of the weakest of the bunch so far.

Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped
by Tony Perrottet
A light, trivial and entertaining look at the sexual foibles of world history. Excellent cocktail-party fodder, but this is an appetizer, not a meal.

Beyond Fear
by Bruce Schneier
Unique insider's perspective into the world of security and defense. Truly fascinating, and useful for everyone from individual citizens to security professionals.

Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America
by Eric Jay Dolin
An amazing historic tale of some 300 years of American maritime history. The author does a fine job mixing the gruesome with the mundane, while covering the social, technological, and political history of whaling, including a real insight into the lives of average whale-men and their families.

The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why
by Amanda Ripley
A look at the psychological and physiological aspects of human behavior when disaster strikes. The author is very good at bringing out the dramatic events of disasters while showing a touch for human interest and psychology while also sharing practical examples that might help future survivors.

Sideways In Crime
by Lou Anders
A decent anthology of alt-history and crime mash-up stories. Like most books of this type, there are good stories mixed with the mediocre.

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
by Ori Brafman
A fun, light pop-psychology tome about the hidden influencers on our behaviors. The book is quite short, but very engagingly written with enough nuggets of interest to hold the readers attention.

A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age
by William Manchester
Really three books in one; a fascinating section on the medieval mind that really gives a feel of what it would be like to live back then, a middle section which contains a solid, workmanlike history of the Reformation, and finally, a completely tacked-on, although still interesting story of Magellan. Each could stand alone as a short book, but together they feel artificially joined.

The Accidental Mind: How Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams, and God
by David J. Linden
An overview of brain science, with good coverage of how the brain works and how various aspects of the brain may have evolved. Overall an amazingly complete survey in such a short book.

The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity, and the Men Who Invented Modern America
by Maury Klein
A book on the economic and industrial history of electric power in America. Contrary to the title, steam power is only about 1/5 of the overall book, and there is almost no coverage of the science or technology, with almost all the focus on the economics and marketing of power. The title is misleading; as a technology book, it is very bad, as an economic history of electricity, it is very good.

Truthiness?

2008-07-03T08:40:00.003-05:00

The Omaha Jewish Press ran an adapted version of the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle story on Dave and I.

For the most part it was a straight adaptation, with a few "localizations" to make it more relevant to Omaha readers, but there is one big change that is simply incorrect. In the original article, Dave notes that Israel recognizes same-sex marriages performed abroad (although a same-sex couple can't get married in Israel itself). This is the result of a 2006 Israeli Supreme Court ruling.

The Omaha Jewish Press for some reason stated that Israel doesn't recognize same-sex marriages -- and in addition to this inaccuracy, they actually change the words of Dave's quote to account for this inaccuracy -- they made Dave's quote wrong to match the incorrectness of their changed story!

First the original:

�The state of Israel will recognize gay marriages from other parts of the world. We�re hoping that since Israel would recognize it, should we ever make aliyah,� Greenbaum said. �Because we are not legally married in the United States, that would make aliyah more difficult. After tomorrow, we�ll be seen as a couple.�

They don�t have immediate plans to make any sort of move, but they like the security the marriage provides, in case they choose to make aliyah in the future.

and the "new and unimproved version:

The state of Israel does not currently recognize gay marriages from other parts of the world.
�We�re hoping that since Israel might someday recognize it, should we ever make aliyah,� Greenbaum said. �Because we are not legally married in the United States, that would make aliyah more difficult. After tomorrow, we�ll be seen as a couple.�
They don�t have immediate plans to make any sort of move, but they like the security the marriage provides, in case they choose to make aliyah in the future.

We're contacting the Omaha Jewish Press to get the to the bottom of this story. Hopefully someone just made a mistake, and they will correct it. I don't expect any malice behind this, but it is important for news stories to be accurate, and to accurate quote people. I'll let you know what we find out.

UPDATE (11:05 AM July 3, 2008): The Jewish Press responded to our complaint...as we suspected, it wasn't malice but an honest error where they didn't do enough research before posting the story. The following correction will run in next weeks issue:

Correction
In last week�s Press, there was an error in the story �Kansas gay couple wed in San Francisco,� stating: �The state of Israel does not currently recognize gay marriages from other parts of the world.�
In fact, in November, 2006, Israel�s Supreme Court did rule that the government had to register gay marriages performed outside the country, however, they cannot be performed within Israel. While opponents did introduce a bill in the Knesset to overturn the court�s ruling in December of 2006, there has been no action since, leaving the high court�s ruling to accept gay marriages performed elsewhere still standing.
Dave Greenbaum�s quote in the article by Beth Lipoff, which originally appeared in the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle should have read:
�The state of Israel will recognize gay marriages from other parts of the world. We�re hoping that since Israel would recognize it, should we ever make aliyah,� Greenbaum said. �Because we are not legally married in the United States, that would make aliyah more difficult. After tomorrow, we�ll be seen as a couple.�
The Jewish Press regrets the error.

Permalink

2008-06-27T15:07:00.002-05:00

I've added a permanent link to the complete archive of wedding information on the right side of the blog. Everything is organized there chronologically and in one place. I still have some work to do. I plan to add some more photos, clean up the page, and add more and better video links, but at least it will all be in one place.

Quickie

2008-06-24T15:40:00.002-05:00

A link to the NPR radio piece. Somehow this got omitted last week.

Houston, we have Jews!

2008-06-21T11:31:00.001-05:00

Kansas City Jewish Chronicle story.

It's what TiVo was made for...

2008-06-19T22:33:00.004-05:00

...Fast-forwarding through another story about Kansas's wackiest gay couple, the Dave and Mike show!

We're overexposed. Yesterdays news. Past our sell-by date. "Jumped the Shark"

Actually, KMBC news out of Kansas City did a pretty nice piece tonight about Dave and I returning from California. It came about 10 minutes into the newscast, which was part of "Vehicular Mayhem Night" on the local news. There were stories on (a) Truck A hits RV, hilarity ensues, (b) Truck B loses load of giant metal tubes, hilarity (and closed freeway) ensues, and finally (c) Truck hits train, featuring a great quote from the truck driver's brother; "He was racing the train. The train won, I guess."

So, consider this a public service announcement: The train will ALWAYS win. Stop, drop, and roll. Train crossing guards save lives, and when you cuddle alone, you cuddle with Hitler!

Seriously, the guy died. The train was delayed 3 hours. Sad stuff. DON'T DATE ROBOTS. (and don't try to beat the train, OK?)

OK, it's my blog, so you get a free link to KMBC's TV news story about Dave and I. (4 MB Quicktime MP4)

And, in other news, The Jewish News Weekly covered the Jewish aspect of the marriage equality story. As is now required by law in California, the article features either Dave or Mike in some form (in this case, Dave). Seriously, it is a very good story. Watch the video, then read the story.

And buy my book.

It's late and I am sarcastic.

Goodnight!

News about news

2008-06-18T08:43:00.001-05:00

Meta, dude.

The day that was

2008-06-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

This was an amazing day, and it is hard to put into words. It started early; we got up at about 6:00 and were out of the hotel by 6:45...we decided to walk the half-mile to City Hall to work off some of the nervous energy. When we got there, the crowd was fairly small, but rapidly grew as massive swarms of media, well-wishers (including the San Francisco Men's Chorus) and of course other couples gathered on the steps. Notably, there was also the signs of at least one healthy segment of the economy -- the wedding business, as various photographers, caterers and other members of the wedding-industrial complex plied their wares.

I took a few pictures of the area, including San Francisco's absolutely beautiful classical City Hall building, when we took out the Kansas flag, to get a picture of ourselves with it...this ended up being the equivalent of throwing a bucked of chum into a shark tank, as a swarm of photographers from various services joined in taking pictures. Our cousin Lisa showed up...she is a second cousin who works in Oakland, and we were honored to see her and ask her to be the actual witness for our license. At this point, the ABC folks re-wired us, and we spent about half an hour being interviewed by various organizations (NPR, local SF news, etc).

Finally, at 8:00 AM, the doors to City Hall were unlocked and a semi-organized line formed. Once inside City Hall, everyone had to pass through a meta detector. This were somewhat disorganized felling at first, but it turned out that the county has basically set up a pretty streamlined process, helped along by dozens of volunteers, who were helping with marriages while still doing their ordinary duties. The woman who helped us actually fill out our license, as well as the gentleman who actually officiated at the ceremony were both employees of the county health department for example...it was very touching how these civil servants were volunteering to do this!

The whole process kind of felt like a kind of dream, like we were on a ride where you just kind of keep moving along. After swearing that our information was true, we sat with the gentleman who would do our ceremony (as aforementioned) who led us upstairs to an alcove to the side of the huge rotunda.

The actual ceremony only took about 5 minutes, but they were the among most moving 5 minutes of my life. He spoke a few paragraphs of text about the meaning of marriage, about the journey through life with one's partner and the tenderness of affection. After a bit, both Dave and I were welling tears...as was the officiant, and even the ABC news producer. Finally came the traditional "do you take this man....to have and hold, in sickness and health...for as long as you shall live?" I was near crying by now, but I said "I do" loud and clear, as did Dave when it was his turn. Then came a brief ring ceremony, which was kind of anticlimactic, since we had our rings from 9 years ago. Still, Dave switched his ring from right to left, for the first time (I've always worn it on the left). Then, the words were said: "By the power vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you spouses for life."

We were married under the law. Dave and I hugged, and whispered the Jewish prayer of thanksgiving. After which, wet-eyed, everyone congratulated us, and it was done. Dave and I were married.

After saying goodbyes to the deputy marriage commissioner, we went back downstairs, where we went to one office to pay $13 for a notarized copy of our license. Then we went to a second line to actually get the certificate, which was enclosed in a nice blue folder. A few pictures were snapped, and then we walked out of the City Hall, holding up the license to cheers from the crowd outside (this happened for all the couples).

We were pretty exhausted at this point -- we said a few final words to ABC, then said goodbye to the crew. Then goodbye to cousin Lisa as well, who we'll see in New York in a few months. Dave and I spent the next hour or so soaking up the atmosphere outside. We talked to a few other reporters, hung out with a group from the local gay-affirming synagogue, and finally, drifted away, down the steps, across the street, and into the city.

It was an amazing day. This blog post doesn't nearly do it justice -- there's really no way to put down on words what it was like. A memory to last a lifetime. I have never seen more positive energy, more love, more excitement in one place in my life. It was collective joy, and individual joy. But most of all it was about me and Dave.

Papers, please

2008-06-17T23:52:00.004-05:00

A few more...

Kansas City Star story (and front cover image)

LA Times photo

SF Chronicle couples profile

AV Club, part 1

2008-06-17T18:21:00.004-05:00

Click here to view some photos we took today

and

Click here to watch the news story from ABC World News Tonight (you will need Quicktime to watch this. This version is smaller -- 12 MB and lower quality and at the wrong aspect ratio.)

There is also a higher quality version available for download with the right aspect ratio. This is bigger (about 40 MB).

I do, and we're done!

2008-06-17T14:02:00.002-05:00

It was an amazing and emotional morning. Dave and I were pronounced legal spouses for life at 9:05 this morning. I will be back later to post much more detail and our experiences and thoughts this day!

ABC

2008-06-16T12:56:00.002-05:00

ABC news filmed us last night and this morning for possibly a piece on Nightline and/or the evening news. It was quite hectic and exhausting. There's probably hours of film for what will be a few minutes of actual footage on the news. Being the subject of a news feature is lot like being a movie star, except without the huge salaries, luxury automobiles, groupies, and craft services tables. If fact, all you get is the repeated "takes" to get the right footage. ("Can you guys walk down the pier and talk to each other?" "OK, do it again").

They took film of Dave in Lawrence, me in Oakland waiting for his plane to land, then us in San Francisco at dinner and at the hotel, as well as a more formal sit-down interview. I am very curious to see what the final result will be. It was quite nerve-wracking, and sort of weird. I mean, really, this shouldn't be news. we're just getting married, not becoming the first gay couple to step foot on Mars or something.

Do you know the way...

2008-06-16T12:04:00.001-05:00

...to San Jose?

The deluge begins

2008-06-14T17:37:00.002-05:00

AP newswire.

Lawrence Journal-World

Guest Post from Dave

2008-06-13T21:01:00.005-05:00

Mike has been busy all day at his conference and I have had to spend Shabbat alone. No point in making a challah for one so I�ll take the stage on Mike�s blog and talk about some of the Jewish aspects of what we are doing and why they are important to me.

Jewish people have a long history of supporting equality and fairness. The National Council of Jewish Women was formed by Hannah Greenbaum Solomon (no relation as far as I know) in 1869. She was a key supporter of women�s suffrage. I feel a bit connected to women�s suffrage due to two coincidences growing up. First, I lived in Akron Ohio for a while, and besides being the rubber capital of the world, it�s also the spot where former slave Sojourner Truth made her famous speech �Ain�t I a Woman�. I also lived in Stanton Hall in college, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton was Susan B. Anthony�s right hand woman in the women�s suffrage movement.

One hundred years later Jewish groups such as the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress, and the Anti-Defamation League funded and supported key groups bringing equality for all people regardless of race.
Therefore, it was no great surprise that as early as 1996, the Central Conference of American Rabbis supported equal marriage for all citizens. Reform Judaism is the largest branch of Judaism in the US.

When I and Mike receive our marriage certificate on June 17th, we will be fulfilling the full terms of our Ketubah, or Jewish marriage contract. We agreed, among the standard responsibilities to each other, to seek �any and all legal recognition�. June 17th will be a fulfillment of that tradition. Just like any blessing we receive, we must always acknowledge the source of blessings, G-d, and thus we plan on saying the shehechiyanu, As is tradition on Shabbat, a short d�var torah on the prayer and it�s connection to June 17th for us. I�ll examine each part of the prayer

�Blessed are You, Keeper our G-d, Sovereign of the universe�
Note I used a gender inclusive language. While it will be men and women that will give us a marriage license, there is no doubt in our minds that our faith is the source of blessings. As I am the child of Karen and Jack and Mike the child of Susie and Jim, we are both the children of our ancestors: Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. We carry their blessings and traditions with us daily.

�who has kept us alive,�
No matter whom you spend life with, the world�s a rough place. How incredibly scary it can be with peril at every turn. Not having the rights of marriage makes every event just a bit scarier. Will I be allowed to make a life and death decision for my loving companion, or will it be left to complete strangers? Will I be allowed to visit my spouse in the hospital should something terrible happen? After June 17th, we�ll have an equal chance as every other couple to navigate the ups and downs of life.

� and sustained us�
Being alive is more than just dying. We are able to be members of our community and active contributors to the economy. My business has over 1,000 clients: people that rely on me for computer repair and support and I rely on them for income. And which software is critical to my job: the software Mike�s company writes. Spending my life with Mike has made me joyous beyond measure. While G-d is the source of all, G-d has empowered Mike to care and protect me. I feel safe and secure with Mike. Everyone deserves to feel that way about another person. Marriage allows us all to do that.

�and enabled us�
This is probably the most important part of the prayer. We didn�t just live our lives, but G-d enabled us to achieve this goal. We were given the tools necessary to reach this moment. We all made this happen. Equality has happened because of the relentless work of so many fair minded people.

�to reach this moment.�

And that�s where it ends. After all the media we�ve spoken with, the distance we�ve traveled, the incredible expenses incurred in making this trip�.it all comes done to one moment. We�re reminded in this prayer that we live life from moment to moment. This will be our moment, as a couple. For a shortest period of time, we�ll have a vision of the world to come. All the craziness of the day will dissolve�.

It will be Dave

It will be Mike.

And then it will be us.

Shabbat Shalom friends and family.

Journal-World article

2008-06-12T00:59:00.002-05:00

The hometown paper ran a short piece on us. Lots of reader comments; like most unmoderated online forums, its mostly some nice comments and a few bigots, with a smattering of "I'm not a lawyer but I play one on the internet" type posts.

Full court press? Or media whoredom?

2008-06-11T11:56:00.006-05:00

Dave sent our press release out to a few papers this morning. It feels weird (and self-aggrandizing) to do it (even though Dave actually hit the 'send' button). One could say this is a public statement of our relationship, but this isn't news (pardon the pun) to anyone who knows us, friends, family, co-workers, and so forth. I think Dave is right that by telling more people about what is really a legal formality will hopefully show the world (or at least a small part of it) that same-sex marriage is not a big deal or any kind of "threat." However, it still feels strange to have this mix of the public and private.

Actually writing the thing felt a little bit like writing a news story for the Onion, complete with the headline. The release was entitled "Lawrence gay couple expect to be first from Kansas to be legally married in California" which sounds much better then "Area sodomites mock God" which is probably how the Christian News Service will run the story.

Anyway, here's the actual release....

Lawrence residents Mike Silverman and Dave Greenbaum will be one the first same-sex couples from Kansas to get legally married in California, and most likely the first such couple from the state to be legally married anywhere in the United States after the pair receive a marriage license in San Francisco, California on at 8:15am on June 17th. Silverman and Greenbaum, who have been together for over twelve years and who had a Jewish ceremony recognizing their union nine years ago, decided to take this important legal step both to provide their relationship with the legal protections of a marriage license as well as make a statement in favor of of equality in Kansas.

California will begin granting marriage licenses equally to all couples on June 17th. Prior to this date, only Massachusetts offered same-sex couples marriage licenses, but these were primarily limited to residents of that state. Although the couple could have travelled abroad to get a marriage license, as American citizens it was important to them to get an American marriage certificate. According to Silverman and Greenbaum, Kansas should recognize their marriage. "When we travelled to California, that state recognized my drivers license issued by Kansas. We would hope that similarly, Kansas will recognize our marriage license" said Greenbaum. The couple realize the Kansas Constitution contains a provision refusing to recognize same-sex marriages, but this may run afoul of the United States Constitution's "full faith and credit" clause, which requires states to recognize other states' official actions.

In past years, the couple submitted testimony to the Kansas Senate in opposition to Kansas' anti-marriage amendment, and made it clear at the time that they intended to seek "any and all legal recognition of their relationship" as was written in their Ketubah, or Jewish marriage contract. This marriage license is the fulfillment of this commitment Silverman and Greenbaum made to each other nine years ago in Omaha, Nebraska at their wedding ceremony at the synagogue Temple Israel.

The couple travelled to California from Lawrence, the first city in the state with both a domestic partner registry and an inclusive antidiscrimination clause and from Kansas, a state founded in opposition to oppression and slavery. Silverman and Greenbaum, who proudly brought their University of Kansas attire with them to California, will provide a sharp contrast to infamous hate preacher Fred Phelps of Topeka, Kansas, who does not represent the true values of that state. "We wanted to show that we are proud to be from Kansas, and we hope that our home state one day soon will live up to its founding values and recognize marriage for all its citizens" said Silverman.

Silverman and Greenbaum are happy to make themselves available for interviews with media by calling (redacted) or emailing (redacted). They will also be blogging daily about their experience at www.mikesilverman.com.

Front and center?

2008-06-10T00:33:00.003-05:00

Most of the news from California has indicated that most counties would begin same-sex marriage licensing as soon as possible -- on Monday June 16, at 5:01 PM. Some counties may do this, but San Francisco will not, except for the symbolic and a very cool wedding of two 80-something year old lesbians, who have lived through the worst and best that our county can be. They will be an awesome first couple representing equality after so many hard years.

The next morning, Tuesday the 7th is when licensing beings in earnest, and our appointment is for 8:15 AM, which is only 15 minutes after the office opens, so we will be among the first, which is pretty cool. In the mean time, Dave and I have been working on some kind of press release. I am not too keen on this idea. I mean, obviously, by its very definition, going to California is a political acts as well as a very personal one, but putting out a press release seems kind of crass, like we are just doing this for some kind of publicity. On the other hand, maybe it would help people back in Kansas put a personal face on what will be a national news event. Still, unless you last name is Baldwin or you have sold a million rap albums, generally you do not put out press releases for your weddings!

We'll probably do it, because if nothing else it is a teaching moment, as they say. All the same, really isn't the end goal a time when a same-sex marriage is only "newsworthy" to the couple's own friends and family and the marriage license as unremarkable as getting a parking permit?

Hello San Francisco

2008-06-08T23:42:00.002-05:00

I arrived in the bay area today for my work conference. Dave won't be joining me til next weekend. One interesting thing I noticed was that there were a lot of ads in the various weekly free newspapers for companies providing services to same-sex couples getting married, from businesses like bed and breakfasts and photographers and other providing wedding services. This will definitely be a boon to the economy here (so Republicans should be in favor now, right?)

Tomorrow Steve Jobs announced the new iPhone, at least everyone is expecting him to. I'll be there watching his Steveness in person (or at least in the overflow room, as I do not plan to get up at 5:00 AM to wait in line!) Should be interesting...

The story so far

2008-06-07T15:06:00.003-05:00

Dave and I are going to be getting married in California on June 17th. This will be a full legal marriage. It is not a domestic partnership, nor is it a civil union (we've collected both of those over the years already). Marriage is the end goal. More specifically, it is the the legal license. You see, Dave and I already have been married for over nine years. Our ceremony, back in 1999, was our wedding, in front of family, friends, and God. What we were going to do in California is getting the legal license to match the reality of our lives. It is an important step; we are citizens of America, after all, and government recognition of our union is important for all kinds of reasons most people never think about.

While we are getting married in California, under full faith and credit our marriage license should be valid anywhere in America, in spite of a (likely unconstitutional) law called "the defense of marriage act" which will hopefully be overturned someday. In the mean time, there are still some questions about the future status of unions like ours. You see, California is one of those strange states that allows any kook with a million bucks to put an initiative on the ballot to take away peoples' fundamental rights, and an amendment against same-sex marriage is on the ballot in November. But that is a matter for the future.

How did Dave and I get here? Well, the California Supreme Court announced their decision in mid-May. As soon as we heard about it, we knew we wanted to get married in California (Massachusetts, which also has same-sex marriage, doesn't allow out of state couples to get married, California does, which is why this is a bigger deal). By lucky coincidence, I was going to be in San Francisco already in mid-June for a work conference. We decided that I would try to stay over a few extra days and Dave would fly out and we would get married. In a flurry of afternoon activity, I made hotel reservations, and made an appointment to get a marriage license at San Francisco's city hall for June 16th, which appeared to be the day that same-sex marriage was actually going to be legal.

Of course, nothing turns out as easy as you expect. The court didn't set a date for their ruling to take effect, and furthermore, the actual bureaucratic instruments of marriage needed to be updated. New forms had to be created, and so forth, and it was all up in the air how long this would take. Finally, the "Christian" groups opposed to equal rights were petitioning the court to issue a stay of its own ruling, which might have caused further delays. In sum, nobody (including state officials) had any idea when people could get married.

In early June, several of these issues were resolved. The state health department decided that marriages would begin on June 17 and set about creating new forms and language. The Supreme Court then clarified the date that marriage would be legal by denying the request for a stay and setting 5 PM on Monday June 16th as the date when marriage could being. This presented a bit of a problem for us (and 43 other couples) who had originally made appointments for June 16. You see, the San Francisco city clerk's office would not allow us to reschedule our appointment for the next day, because all the slots on the 17th had already been filled weeks before.

The middle of June crept ever closer, and we still had no idea if we would be allowed to marry. Of course, the longer we waited, the more expensive flights and so forth became, as well as the more stressful it got to try to make contingency plans for what might turn out to be a last minute trip. Making things even more frustrating, the county clerk's office initially said that the June 16th couples would be accommodated on the 17th, then they changed their minds. Dave was even able to actually call and talk to the county clerk, and we were impressed that this overworked public servant actually took the time to talk to Dave. Her position was that as long as things were in the air implementation wise, that there wasn't much she could do, other the try to be fair to everyone. We gambled on the 16th, but the roulette wheel came up the 17th, so we lost.

Luckily, after the court rejected the stay attempt, the state health department officially declared that as of 5:01 PM on June 16th, same-sex marriage could begin in California. Meanwhile, the San Francisco mayors office worked with the clerks office to expands the resources for conducting marriages the first week, which opened up a large amount of extra slots. All of this happened very fast on Friday June 6th. Dave and I were literally checking the clerk's web site every half hour to see if new appointment slots would open up; all of our plans were in the air until this happened. It was very stressful, to say the least, because we really had to know for sure before dropping a couple grand on a trip to San Francisco (and Mike having to extend his work trip for several extra days).

But, it worked out. New time slots opened, and Dave got our original (invalid) appointment time switched to Tuesday the 17th. This mean that short of a meteor hitting California (the right-wings fantasy!) that we were going to get married on the 17th. So the date is on! Dave made his trip reservations and I changed mine.

Both of us are obviously excited, but it is also going to be stressful. I don't like being gone for such a long time (10 days!) for my work conference (Apple's Developer Conference for anyone interested), but it is also a busy time for me at work, with my team being at the end of a stressful and very busy software release. So I hate being gone during this time. And of course, Dave hates traveling in general. But, this is a once in a lifetime experience. When we had our religious ceremony 9 years ago, we filled out a Jewish marriage contract, called a Ketubah. In one of its clauses, we agreed to seek any legal recognition of our union that we could. And now, finally, we have that chance. Almost undoubtedly, we will be the first gay couple from the state of Kansas to be legally married. We are going to take our Kansas flag with us to SF, so we can show the world that real Kansas values are the same as they were during the Civil War era -- freedom for everybody and equal rights!

I know I haven't posted to this blog much this year, but I will try to keep a day by day diary here as the date approaches, so hopefully at least family and friends can keep up on things! Talk to you soon!