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My wife and I recently had our first baby, and there is an impressive number of documents required to apply for his US Passport. As a little bit of background, my wife is Japanese and I am from the US, with that situation our son can have 2 Passports and dual citizenship; one for the US and one for Japan. When he turns 22 he'll have to choose if he wants to continue holding Japanese or US citizenship, since Japan doesn't recognize dual citizenship currently (but that is a separate topic).

So on with the rundown of what's required when applying for a US Passport.

1. Make an appointment at the nearest US embassy, this will help the staff know in advance that you're coming and reserve time for you for your appointment.
2. Your baby! You might be surprised to hear this one, but even if you child is just a couple months old the embassy will want to see them in person.
3. Both parents (or a notarized consent of missing parent). Yes both Mom and Dad have to visit as well.
4. Mom and Dad's passports, this one is pretty obvious but both parent's passports will be checked for ID and citizenship purposes.
5. Proof of child's birth or Birth certificate, in Japan specifically they ask for a Shussei Todoke Kisai Jiko Shomeisho that was original issued by ward office. Keep in mind if bringing documents non in english, the embassy will ask for an english translation of the documents.
6. Proof of Parent's Marriage, the embassy wants an original Marriage Certificate not a photocopy.
7. For parent's that have been married previously, proof that the previous marriage has been ended, as in Court documents.
8. 2 Identical photos of your baby, the photos must be 2x2 Inches. These will be used as the baby's passport photo. Believe it or not this is one of the trickiest required documents. The reason this is difficult is because you need to capture a photo of your child when they're not blinking with their eyes visible, with a white background, and not making some funny face. A tip the Embassy gave is to have one parent take the photos while the other parent holds the baby with a white sheet between them. In this case you want to capture only your baby not a family portrait. =)
9. Social Security application (Bonus). The Embassy can also handle registering your child with a Social Security number, so there's no need to submit it to the Social Security agency yourself if you fill it out and bring it with you on the day you apply for a passport.
10. US $150 or equivalent in your local currency. Alternatively your embassy may also accept credit cards.
11. A Self Addressed return envelope, in Japan the Embassy recommends an Expack 500 envelope that may be purchased from most convenient stores (7-11, AMPM, FamilyMart, etc.)

In addition to these documents the Embassy will likely give you further application documents to fill out at the embassy. If you bring all of these on the day of your appointment, it'll make for a smoother process. In my experience it took about 1 1/2 hour at the embassy, and then my son's passport was ready and mailed to our address in less than 2 weeks.

For the Passport Application process in Tokyo there's a useful site here with links to the necessary application forms and further details.

-- LonelyBob

Here's the process I took to install GNU/Linux on the xbox, originally shared on a Linux on xbox Wiki that went offline, but I was able to recover the page from the Internet Archive's WayBack Machine and now is republished below for anyone to read.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- FindInstallAndStartSetup

Written by Kevin Korpi aka LonelyBob (and reformatted by AsheeshLaroia) Installing GNU/Linux on a Micro$oft Xbox

I have been following the Xbox-Linux Project for some time now since I am interested in running GNU/Linux on a PC newer than 1997 era (my current hardware). I chose to go the software route thus not voiding any warranties by opening the xbox hardware and voiding my right to return the xbox should I choose not to keep it.

[Step 1 Finding an xbox]

I started my journey to installing GNU/Linux on an xbox by searching for an xbox that would be able to run GNU/Linux.

Currently the Xbox-Linux Project ([WWW] http://xbox-Linux.sourceforge.net ) only runs on xbox versions 1.3 and below.

Also I wanted to find an xbox with a Samsung DVD drive since they read CD's/DVDs better than the Thompson and Philips DVD drives. The only way you can tell what kind of DVD drive is present is if the xbox is plugged in and the drive ejected. The Samsung drive has 3 holes in it the others have one. ([WWW] http://xbox-Linux.sourceforge.net/docs/versionsentry.html )

I first went to Electronic Boutique (EB) and asked, "I have a sort of strange request. I'm looking for an xbox with a Samsung DVD drive in it but the only way you can tell what kind of drive is inside is if you open the box and plug it in." The clerks at EB refused to open any box saying that if they did they would void the warranty.

Next I tried a music store that sells video games as well as music and movies. I asked the clerk in a similar manner as EB and she was willing to open a box. But before she opened it I asked her to read me the manufacture date. The manufacture date is printed on the back of the xbox viewable without opening the box since there's an opening in the back of the cardboard box. It turned out that they only had the August 2003 version that would probably have been a 1.5 or 1.4 version that would not have been useful for my purposes. I thanked her for her help since she was willing to open the box.

The next place I checked was KB Toys the clerk there gave some lame excuse saying that he could be sued if he opened the box. I did notice that the boxes were the same kind that the music store had. The box had a game character printed on the front making it different than the older box print.

I believe that the new boxes all hold 1.4 or 1.5 xboxen. So if you're looking for a 1.3 or lower xbox you could look for one with just the xbox logo on it then check the manufacture date. A manufacture date of June 2003 is most likely 1.3 or earlier. Be aware that most xbox manufactured August and later are 1.4 or greater versions and GNU/Linux can not run on them because a different video encoder chip is installed in them.

It is also a good idea to find out the store's return policy before buying so if you get an xbox that can not run GNU/Linux you may return it and continue your search for an older version.

Getting back to my search for an xbox the next place that I tried was Radioshack. Radioshack only carried xbox family packs that included hardware that I would not need nor use. I did take note that Radioshack had a USB mouse for $20, various USB memory sticks, and xbox controller extension cords (Radioshack brand). I bought an xbox extension cord at that time but thought that I should wait until I found an xbox that would run GNU/Linux before buying other peripherals.

My next stop was K-Mart my thinking was that K-mart sells video games but most people do not go there first when they want a video game so maybe they would have older xboxen. I asked a clerk my now practiced question/explanation and he was willing to open a box. Looking at the two xboxen that were in stock I was happy to find that they were both manufactured in June 2003 making them a good candidate for 1.3 or older version. Now to find out what type of DVD drive they had. The xbox was brought to the service desk where another clerk opened the box while I explained to him that I was looking for a Samsung drive and the only way to tell is to plug it in and press eject. He gave no objections to opening the box and plugging it in. Upon plugging it in and pressing eject out came a Samsung DVD drive. Needless to say I bought it right then and there. ($180)

[Step 2 Transferring the save game]

The next step in the xbox GNU/Linux install is the save game transfer. The Mech Assault game has a save game exploit that allows one to add a Linux option on the dashboard and load a small GNU/Linux distro. Note- It is known that 2 versions of Mech Assault are available. One is the original, the other is the "xbox game of the year" version that does not work with the MechInstaller exploit. Therefore you want the older version. You can tell what version you have by the laser etching on the back, if you have MS02301L you have the original, if it is MS02308L you have the new version.

The way that I transferred the save game from the net to my xbox was by using a USB pen drive. ([WWW] http://unmodded.mine.nu/docs/XboxUsbCompatibilityList ) You may check the list for specific USB devices since not all are recognized by the xbox.

I picked up a Lexar (Secure) 128 Meg USB Pen drive from Radioshack ($60) along with a USB optical mouse ($20) earlier I bought an xbox controller extension cord ($10.50) there. Then I went to KBS Computers and got a USB extension cord ($10) and a USB Apple IMac keyboard($20) there.

Now you might be wondering what you need all of these USB peripherals for. An xbox's controller ports are all standard USB ports only micro$oft changed the physical port plug so that regular plugs do not fit. To use a standard USB device you need an adapter.([WWW] http://xbox-Linux.sourceforge.net/docs/usbadapter.html )

You could buy an adapter on the web or you could make your own I chose the latter. Basically you cut the cords, strip the wires, solder the same colors to the same colors, an tape it up. I soldered the female standard USB end to the xbox male end creating a standard USB input port. The xbox cords have an additional yellow wire in them that need not be soldered since there is no corresponding wire in a standard USB cord.

Plug the adapter into your xbox then plug the USB memory stick/pen drive in while the xbox is in the dashboard. Enter the memory section a message should appear on the screen saying memory unit formatted if it does not see the memory stick it could be because of a faulty adapter or because it is a type that the dashboard software can not read. When you do get a recognized USB stick/pen drive working take note of how many blocks are available.

After formatting the pen drive that I got I plugged it into a PC running GNU/Linux and tried running the findfatx.sh script. ([WWW] http://xbox-Linux.sourceforge.net/docs/howtoswprep.html ) The findfatx.sh script is supposed to find out what device will be used to read/write to the USB pen but it did not work for me.

Download the Mech Assault save game exploit, unzip, and find the corresponding save game size for your USB stick/pen drive. I then ran 'dd if=/home/username/MechInstaller-1.0-FATX-128MB.img of =/dev/sda' since my USB pen drive was on /dev/sda and it has 128 Megs storage. You should change the save game and device for your own system.

Now you should have the save game on the USB stick. Plug it into your xbox go to the memory section and copy the Mech Assault save games to the xbox hard drive. If you do not see the save game try the next smaller size save game exploit when you dd it to the USB device.

Now you will need the Mech Assault game to load the save game exploit. I rented it from Blockbuster Video ($6.75) or you could purchase it from a store. Once you have the game start it and choose Campaign then choose the save game that you wish to do. In other words install would install, emergency load would load, and uninstall would uninstall a small GNU/Linux distro.

After you install there should be a new choice on the dashboard named Linux that runs GNU/Linux. When you run the small GNU/Linux distro your USB keyboard and/or USB mouse will not work but you can telnet to your xbox using username 'root' an password 'xbox'. By default the IP will be set to 192.168.0.3 you may only telnet to your xbox if you have both computers plugged into a hub or switch.

Should you want to pass on the Mech Assault save game to friends you may want to get a regular xbox memory card and copy the save game to it so that your friends do not have to find or make a USB adapter to try running GNU/Linux on their xbox. I picked up a memory card from EB ($15) just for that purpose.

Note if you want to run GNU/Linux on your xbox do not choose the Xbox Live option from the dashboard nor should you attempt to play games online with your xbox. There have been numerous cases where micro$oft has updated the dashboard over the net without asking the user if they wish them to do so disabling the ability to run GNU/Linux on the xbox and also deleting various data on the hard drive.

[Step 3 Install a distro]

The last step to getting GNU/Linux on your system is choosing a distro that you want to install. ([WWW] http://xbox-Linux.sourceforge.net/docs/download.html ) There are a few different distros to choose from I chose Debian.

It is recommended to use a CD RW or DVD R to burn the distro on since they are easier to read I used an Imation CD RW. ($2)

To boot from CD/DVD put the disk in your xbox while it is in the dashboard then choose the Linux option. The Linux option checks the DVD drive first if a GNU/Linux distro is in the DVD drive it tries to boot from it if there is no disk in the drive it boots the small GNU/Linux distro from the hard drive.

The xbox Debian .5.1 distro boots into X-Windows as user live from there you can run 'xbox_tool -a' as root to find out more info about your xbox the default root password is 'xbox'.

If you have an internet connection that uses DHCP you can run 'dhclient' as root to connect to the net.

For connections that use PPPoE I recommend getting RP-PPPOE the Roaring Penguin PPPoE connection software. I have had trouble with the Debian PPPoE tools but with Roaring Penguin I have never had a problem.

Should you wish to use a virtual terminal such as tty1, tty2, or tty4 you can press CTRL-ALT-F1 to get to virtual terminal 1, CTRL-ALT-F2 to get to virtual console 2, etc to return to the GUI press CTRL-ALT-F7. You may have problems running certain programs from the virtual terminal such as emacs and lynx to fix that you can run 'export TERM=xterm'.

To install to the hard drive run 'XBOXLinuxInstall' as root if you are in a virtual terminal and get an error message about TERM not being set try the fix that I mentioned in the previous sentence. Alternatively you may run 'su' on a console in the GUI after entering the default password 'xbox' that will log you in as root.

From there I chose the first choice to install on the E game partition. After that the installer will ask for the size of swap file that you want followed by how large of a root partition that you want. I went with 256 size swap file and 4000 Megs for the root partition for GNU/Linux take note that there is currently a 4 gig max limit for FATX partitions.

After all of the files are installed the words Happy Penguin will be printed. You may then reboot your xbox, remove the disk from the drive, then choose Linux from the dashboard menu to boot your new GNU/Linux system from hard drive.

If you get stuck somewhere along the line you can get help at irc.oftc.net on #xbox-Linux.

Thanks mikegrb, tytyty, an others that I missed for the good work and the help. (Note- this was written 10/24/2003, work on the newer video encoder chip present in 1.4 an 1.5 xboxen is in CVS at this time)

 Item                             Price       Bought at
Xbox                             $180         K-Mart
128 Meg Lexar (Secure) USB Pen    $60        Radioshack
USB Extension Cord                $10        KBS Computers
Xbox Extension Cord              $10.50      Radioshack
Mech Assault (Rental)            $6.75       Blockbuster Video
USB Keyboard (Apple IMac)         $20        KBS Computers
USB Optical Mouse                 $20        Radioshack
Xbox Memory Card                  $15        Electronic Boutique
CD RW (Imation)                   $2         School Store
Total                             324.25 (+ tax)
Running GNU/Linux on Xbox        Priceless 

last edited 2004-02-22 02:41:06

Two days earlier my wife had checked into the Red Cross hospital in Morioka, Iwate at the doctor's recommendation so that they could run more tests on her and our child. Our Son was anticipated to be born at the end of October, I was to leave for Iwate the following week and had purchased a reserved Shinkansen ticket the week prior. My wife had decided to have the baby in Iwate since that is where her parents live, they could support her such as driving her to the hospital or store when she needed.

Fast forward to today, I am at work a little after lunch my wife calls me and says the doctor's told her that our son's heartbeat was irregular and they might choose to do a C-Section soon. I ask her how soon was soon? She says she doesn't know, the doctors hadn't specified if soon meant today or next week. She says she has to go since the doctors are going to run more tests now. I sit down at my desk and go back to work, with this news processing in the back of my mind.

About 45 minutes later she calls me again, she says the doctors have recommended they do a C-Section now. I ask her now, as in right now? She replies yes, and she has to call her parents to tell them this update, and to sign some paperwork.

My mind begins to spin, adrenaline is pumping, and I start to panic. What do I do? I'm at work in Tokyo and my wife is having a C-Section in Iwate! Worries go through my head, will the baby be ok, will my wife be ok? I haven't even packed anything yet. I decide to talk with someone else to get these thoughts out of my head and to think through what's going on. I call my friend and co-worker Brian that has had 2 kids in Japan, and tell him what's going on. We talk briefly about what's going on and he asks me, is there any reason why you can't leave now and take a train to get there? I think about this for a second, I am at work, and hadn't planned to leave until next week but I could leave today. If I leave right now I could get to Iwate tonight and see how my wife and our son are doing in person. I decide that is what I'm going to do.

I walk back into the office, tell one of my team leaders that I have to leave my wife is having a C-Section now, I shutdown my computer, quickly say good bye to a couple co-workers and head out the door, going through in my head all the things I need to do before I can actually get to a bullet train. I rush to a bank ATM and take out money for the trip expenses, then rush to the Meguro Train Station where I can buy a new Shinkansen ticket for today. I decide to buy a non-reserved seating Ticket since it's cheaper, then rush down the stairs to my subway to take the train home, I still need to pack. On the way home I stop at Shirokane Takanawa Station to renew my Teiki (monthly train pass), since it's going to expire next week and don't want to worry about renewing it while I'm in Iwate. Then I get on the next subway train and continue my ride home.

To try and calm myself I listen to a Podcast on my N97, choosing the FFundercats since the show is usually funny yet doesn't require your full attention to listen to. While listening to that I create a list of things I want to bring, so that I don't forget anything to pack when I get home. I also search on the web for a Shinkansen Time Table to check which Shinkansen I can catch and when it will arrive in Iwate.

Arriving at my stop a while later, I rush up the stairs of Hatogaya Station on the way up my mobile phone rings. I answer, it's my wife's mother, she says the Baby is ok, Miki (my wife) is ok, and the baby is cute! I breath a sigh of relief. My mother in-law hands the phone to someone else, I hear another voice on the line, it's my wife's sister. She says congratulations! I tell her that I'm going there tonight, I'm on the way there right now, can someone pick me up at the train station to bring me to the hospital? She says yes, just let her know when I'll be arriving at the station. I thank her and hang up.

I continue briskly walking home from the Hatogaya Station to my apartment to pack and bring clothes, etc. to Iwate. Arriving home I go through the checklist I made on the subway ride home, double check it, then rush back out the door with my suitcase back to the Hatogaya train station. I take the subway to Oji Station, where I transfer to Keihin Tohoku Line. Unfortunately the line is crowded with afternoon passengers heading home from the office, and I'm sure some of them don't appreciate my suitcase on the train. Fortunately after several stops the crowd thins out, and there's room for my suitcase and I, afew stops from Omiya Station I could even sit down and rest a moment before I start rushing again.

I arrive at Omiya Station, where there's a Shinkansen Station, pull my suitcase off the train and rush up the escalator, wind my way through the crowds of people towards the Shinkansen ticket gates. Passing through the ticket gate I scan through the LED display showing the current time table. The next Tohoku Shinkansen that goes to Morioka, Iwate leaves in 20 minutes but is reserved seating only, the next Tohoku Shinkansen with non-reserved seating leaves in about 50 minutes. I ask a Shinkansen ticket booth employee and he confirms that I can't take the Shinkansen that leaves in 20 minutes with the non-reserved seating ticket I have, but I can upgrade to a reserved seat for an additional 600 Yen. I say to him upgrading would be great, he walks me over to a ticket machine, feeds in my current Shinkansen ticket and after a few touch screen button presses and paying the upgrade fee I now have a reserved seat on the next Shinkansen to Iwate!

The Shinkansen employee kindly walks me through the ticket gate and points me towards the platform where the Shinkansen to Iwate will be leaving from. I pull my suitcase up the escalator and walk to the waiting place for my Shinkansen car, following the signs above. A quick wait and I finally find myself riding on the Shinkansen to Morioka, Iwate. I step outside to the inbetween-car hallway and call my wife's sister, and tell her the time the train will arrive at Morioka Station. She tells me that her parents will pick me up from the station. I send her the same info via SMS, just to confirm that she has the correct times. Finally getting the chance to sit down in the cushy Shinkansen chair and rest a little, but my adrenaline is still pumping, excited to see my son and how my wife is doing. I send an E-mail to my family from my mobile, filling them in on all these updates, and that I'm on the way now to see my son.

A while later at about 9:15 PM I arrive at Morioka station. I rush outside, and realize it's much colder in Iwate than Tokyo or Saitama, by atleast a difference of 10 degrees Fahrenheit if not more. I pull a jacket out of my backpack and call my parent in-laws to tell them I've arrived, they pick me up in front of the station. They say congratulations, and they drive me to the hospital. The ride seems much longer than usual. Eventually we arrive at the hospital, my mother in-law hands me a health mask, she tells me to put it on as she and my father in-law put on their own masks. Apparently almost everyone that visits the hospital is encouraged to wear them. I follow my parent in-laws through the hallways, several of the hallways are dark, the lights have been turned off since it is after visiting hours and presumably so that patients can sleep better.

After a winding route through different hallways we reach a room, my mother in-law knocks softly and we walk into the dimly lit room. There's my wife laying on the bed, she says Hi. Her voice seems softer than before, she's drowsy from some painkillers she's been given. My father in-law and mother in-law struggle unsuccessfully to figure out how to turn on more of the lights in the room. They resolve to just turn on the light over the sink in the room. Shortly after there's a knock on the door, a woman's voice says shitsurei shimase (excuse me). Then the door slides open and a nurse wheels in a cart with baby bed and baby in it. I blink and then suddenly realize and say, is that him? (In hindsight of course it was our son, who else would it be?) My wife says yes that is Leo, say Hi to him. I look at him more closely, he's sleeping, but he looks wonderful.

Here's the first photos of my son:

It turns out the reason for the irregular heartbeat was the umbilical cord was tangled around his neck. Eventhough my son was born 2 weeks earlier than predicted he was plenty big, weighing in at about 6.3 pounds and 19.7 inches. I am now a proud father. =)

Vimeo has now increased the weekly upload limit to 250 Megs per week! Previously the limit was just 30 Megs per week so this is a big increase of upload capacity per week for Vimeo users. Incase you are wondering what I am talking about Vimeo is a great video sharing website. I have been using Vimeo for about a year and a half now and it is one of the better video sharing sites on the web. If you do not have a Vimeo account yet it is free to join. If you have a camera that takes video go ahead join and upload your videos! You can check out videos I have taken here on my Vimeo page.
-- LonelyBob

Well I am back from the States as of yesterday afternoon (Thursday) I am back in Japan. The CES in Las Vegas was an exciting and busy event. At the CES Nokia announced the N93i, N800, and N76 Nseries multimedia computers. After the busy CES show I flew over to NY to visit my family and friends for a couple of days. I had a relaxing time there and had some great pizza and home cooked meals. Photos from the CES are uploaded on my Flickr account under the tag CES. I am in the process of tagging my photos that I took in NY when I am done they'll be uploaded on my Flickr account as well. Blog posts with both images and video are on my Vox blog.
-- LonelyBob