I am hoping that one of our faithful readers can offer me advice on extracting audio from DVDs that we own (i.e. movie DVDs).

I’ve done this process myself a few times now, and it is always painful.  Here is what I have done to accomplish it:

1. Use DVD Decrypter program to “decrypt” and copy the files from the DVD to the PC
2. Use Clier’s AC3 tool to extract the ac3 audio out of the VOB file
3. Use Clier’s AC3 tool to analyze the ac3 and then convert it to WAV
4. Listen to WAV using WinAmp or whatever and mark off the timeline where the music is you want
5. Use Audacity to slice up the WAV using the selection tool and copy the selections to a new Audacity project you create
6. Export as Mp3 and drink some tea.

I just spent a good hour and a half figuring out how to do this (again), though at least I wrote down the instructions this time, but does anyone know an easier way to do this on a Windows PC?

“The usual dreams, the usual schemes…”
– The Lightning Seeds, “Waiting for Today to Happen”

We finished it all!  Katie and I got CPR/First aid certified this morning, and all that is left now is the home study where the caseworkers come and interview us at length in our home.  After that, we could literally receive a call at anytime, in an hour or in a week or in a month.

The time has gone by both quickly and slowly, if you know what I mean.  Katie and I discussed adoption as an option we were both open to for a long time and over the past few years it has simmered on the back burner, at times getting hotter and at times cooling off again.  Eventually we made the decision to move forward with the application process for foster-adoption, and we have completed it after one very intense month.

Multiple times we have asked ourselves whether we can handle what we might face, and the answer is “we don’t know”, but unless we try, we will never know.  Unless we at least try to sincerely give ourselves to others, to these children, and open our hearts and family to love them, we won’t know whether it was worth it or not.

Ultimately, we believe that this is a call from God, and that He will give us grace to endure whatever sufferings await us, just as He does in every aspect of our life.  You can’t escape suffering in this life, no matter how rich you are nor how clever nor how many pills you take.  The only true “way out” is through the Cross: Christ’s and the one He asks us each to carry, and it is the best way.

With great risk comes the possibility of great reward, however.  We could bunker down and cling tight to whatever possessions we have, materially and spiritually, and not risk them by opening up our lives to others, to these poor, abused children, but in doing so we would stagnate and eventually wither and dry up.  Who wants that?  Instead, God offers us radical love and calls us to love others radically, and what we are given in return is a sharing in His own life and boundless love.

I’ve thought a lot about how us adopting mirrors the Father’s adoption of us.  What a mess I had made of my life by age 20, and yet the Father adopted me as his son, in his Son, with all my problems, all my baggage, all my sins through which I hurt our Lord.  If God adopted me and gave me a new birth, a new life in the Holy Spirit, what a gift it would be for me to do the same for a child!

We’ll keep you posted on what happens next…

Then quickly backtracked and changed their statement after Obama et. al. realized what negative crud it was:

[Obama spokesman:]“Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain’s commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush’s failed economic policies — that’s not the change we need, it’s just more of the same.”

That statement arrived just before takeoff (about 9:30 a.m. MDT). Not 30 minutes later, senior adviser Linda Douglass, reading from her Blackberry, gave the traveling press a very different statement, this one from Sens. Obama and Biden:
“We send our congratulations to Governor Palin and her family on her designation as the Republican nominee for vice president. Her selection is yet another encouraging sign that all barriers are falling in our politics and while we obviously have differences over how to best lead this country forward Governor Palin is an admirable person and will add a compelling new voice to this campaign.”

What happened?

Did the campaign suddenly regret failing to take note of Palin’s unique place in American history as the first woman tabbed by the Republican Party as a vice presidential nominee? Did it regret missing an opportunity to tell women (especially Hillary Clinton loyalists) across the country that Palin deserved at least a cursory compliment before being subjected to the natural rough-and-tumble or presidential politics? Did it regret a swift descent into the negative, back-and-forth politics that Obama has so earnestly railed against?

It would appear so.

It would indeed appear so.    Meanwhile Sarah Palin graciously thanks and applauds Sen. Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro for blazing the trail ahead of her.

Obama’s got a problem.

Yes!

Katie and I made a donation to the McCain-Palin campaign today, and I encourage you to do the same if you approve of his choice for running-mate.  Donate here.

Sen. Obama was supposedly waltzing toward his coronation just a month ago, but then McCain came back and matched him in the polls, and now with Obama’s tepid choice of Sen. Biden for running mate, McCain has seized the opportunity and chosen someone who is extraordinary in so many ways, giving him great chances for winning this election–how awesome would it be to have Gov. Palin as Vice President of the United States!

Let’s do it, friends!

So, the plan was to decorate a room in neutral tones, since we don’t know whether we’ll host little boys or little girls. However, I think I’ve tipped the scales in the feminine direction. I dearly hope I don’t scar some little boy for life.

Here are a few photos of the bed canopies I’ve erected, with Devin’s help. I’ll post more photos as the room gets more furniture.

I knew there was a secret plan for us when we received a Bum Genius diaper in the mail on Monday, and now I have even further proof. We’ve now received a few lovely Catholic baby books (the Lord’s Prayer, Lives of the Saints, etc), thanks to dear Miss Dehan. Also, a lovely Moby baby wrap from the Brumleys–moss green, a prudent choice, and assorted baby items, including another sling, from the Kuschs. That’s two slings now, Team Rose Surprise, and they’re lovely; I think God might be trying to tell us something. Thank you so much.

Devin and I are deeply grateful and delighted with your generous gifts.

Wow, my respect for Senator McCain just increased by an power of 10. He’s asked Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin, to serve as his running mate! She has five children, including a baby with Downs syndrome, and also wears totally cute glasses–hey, a girl’s style sense is important. Any fears about his choosing a pro-abortion running mate are now groundless, and I feel much better about his good sense.

And, I love the fact that her parents were caribou hunting when the news of her appointment hit the wires.

McCain-Palin, 2008!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 26, 2008

STATEMENT OF HIS EMINENCE, EDWARD CARDINAL EGAN CONCERNING REMARKS MADE BY THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Like many other citizens of this nation, I was shocked to learn that the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America would make the kind of statements that were made to Mr. Tom Brokaw of NBC-TV on Sunday, August 24, 2008. What the Speaker had to say about theologians and their positions regarding abortion was not only misinformed; it was also, and especially, utterly incredible in this day and age.

We are blessed in the 21st century with crystal-clear photographs and action films of the living realities within their pregnant mothers. No one with the slightest measure of integrity or honor could fail to know what these marvelous beings manifestly, clearly, and obviously are, as they smile and wave into the world outside the womb. In simplest terms, they are human beings with an inalienable right to live, a right that the Speaker of the House of Representatives is bound to defend at all costs for the most basic of ethical reasons. They are not parts of their mothers, and what they are depends not at all upon the opinions of theologians of any faith. Anyone who dares to defend that they may be legitimately killed because another human being “chooses” to do so or for any other equally ridiculous reason should not be providing leadership in a civilized democracy worthy of the name.

Edward Cardinal Egan
Archbishop of New York

One our requirements for fostering is having an evacuation plan and posting it about the house, including at child’s-eye level so that they can, in the event of a catastrophic fire, read the plan and formulate their quickest escape route.  Hey, there are some clever 2-year olds out there!

It’s silly, but it’s the law.

On an unrelated note, here is a picture of the chickens roosting on our vineyard arbor:

We had our last class yesterday evening; a few current foster couples came and brought their children. We had a great time asking them questions and seeing their cute children. We got (gave the goverment) our fingerprints yesterday, also.

We passed our fire inspection on Monday–special thanks to Leuitenant John and to Devin, who installed a smoke alarm in every bedroom so that we would be approved. We passed our health inspection today, despite the “old rodent droppings” in our water heater closet in the garage. Eww! Who knew that children might explore the water heater closet, but, then, one can never be too careful. We received our TB tests this morning and will find out Friday if we are positive. Please, God, no.

All that remains is to be CPR certified this Saturday and then complete our home study with our caseworkers. We could welcome an infant within a week or two. We’ll keep you posted.