Emil's Wicked Cool Blog

So having a daughter is fantastic, but it's been interesting to see how logistics work when you can't sign your name...here are two recent logistics issues and how they needed to be handled:

1. Obtaining a passport:

• Kathryn had to get a picture taken, and show up with both Kelly and I at the passport office with photos in hand, a birth certificate showing Kathryn was born in the US and naming Kelly and I as parents, and our drivers licenses to prove we actually are the parents
  
• Once we get her passport, it is not valid until signed. The signature? One of us prints Kathryn's name and then signs our own name, adding (MOTHER) or (FATHER) after the signature. Here's the official FAQ item. Oh, and the requirements for obtaining a passport for minors.
  

2. Depositing a check (that was addressed payable to child):

• Account needs to be opened as UTMA (or UGMA if you're from a few states that don't recognize UTMA yet). Parent is custodian.
  
• Check needs to be signed by me as a custodian, payable to the bank, for benefit of the child. For Kathryn, the full check endorsement went something like this: Custodian for Kathryn payable to / FBO Kathryn

Also fun is the fact that certain things require an email address. Kathryn's email address is established now, but it will be several years before she reads her own email...

On the way back from India I read an article (PDF) on tax diversification when working on retirement savings planning. I thought it was an exceptional article...absolutely recommended.

Unless you're native, don't do it. I just uploaded a few short videos of the driving experience this past weekend in Delhi and in Agra. I've been staying in Bangalore, but the driving experience is pretty much the same. I also have a very short (but boring - buildings don't do a lot of stuff) video of visiting the Taj Mahal.

So I just finished uploading pictures of my trip to the Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri. Fatehpur Sikri was very impressive, partly because I had no idea what to expect when I got there (by contrast, most people have an idea of what the Taj looks like and what it's about).

The wikipedia entry gives some background on the site, but doesn't mention a very important fact: I'm told that Akbar had 3 wives, one Christian, one Hindu, and one Muslim. The entire architecture of the place incorporates themes from all three religions. An example - the gate called Buland Darwaza is the same height as the Obelisk in St. Peter's Basilica as an homage to Christians. The wikipedia entries even confirm this. Some of the pictures I took show the various styles. Here's another example of what I'm talking about.

I'm also working on getting a translation for this Arabic plaque. It's artistic in nature so it's not easy to read, even for natives (I have a coworker who is Egyptian).

So I've totally gone dark. Short summary of what I've been up to:

• Crazy work stuff (December)
  
• Christmas with wife/daughter in Chicago
• Crazy work stuff (January)
• Business trip to India
  

I'm India right now. Will try to post more...