There are three questions needing answers
Nov 13, 2007 Adoption
Over at Open Adoption Support there are three posts from folks asking for advice. One is from someone’s blog and two are submissions via anonymous “ask a question.” One seems pretty pressing (it’s a woman asking about placing her baby with friends if she decides to maintain the pregnancy).
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Tags: open adoption
Another productivity tip
Nov 13, 2007 work work work
Thanks to Lifehacker, I’ve been messing with Quicksilver. See, way back when I first got started Julia told me that I should start creating systems BEFORE I got overwhelmed with work. For someone as hare-brained as I can be (and as prone to wander off because something shiny caught my eye) this has been pretty important. When it comes to software Quicksilver has been a big help (not because it helps me organize but because it makes it easier to find stuff.) Other productivity tools I use:
- Â Google Desktop (for the mac, natch, but it worked with PCs first)
- This handy application would freak my paranoid husband out completely because what it does is integrate your computer into your google searches. Just yours, mind you (as far as I know — maybe I could use more paranoia). In any case, I’ve got a lot of articles and things here on my computer but I often forget ‘em. Sometimes when I do a google search I’ll find out that I have that nifty quote right there hidden deep in a desktop folder. It also searches my gmail. I like it.
- IGTD
- I’ll admit that I haven’t used this as much as I should. Basically it’s a project organizer. Since most of my jobs have been pretty manageable with my handy low-tech whiteboard I haven’t really delved into this. But I can see how useful it’d be if I had several major disconnected projects happening. I keep it around just in case.
- Scrivener
- If you’re a writer on a Mac and haven’t discovered the joy that is Scrivener, get thee to the web site now! This piece of software lets you totally organize your book-length projects. Watch the movie and I think you’ll be convinced.
- Billable
- I tried a couple of different invoicing systems and Billable is my favorite. It’s got a timer so I can keep track of projects or I can bill by the piece (the person you’re billing won’t see what system you’re using). It’s been useful to figure out how long projects actually take me so that I can get better at bidding on projects. Once I’ve logged my jobs, I can create an invoice in pdf format and send it directly to my client. I can easily see what I’ve yet to bill and what invoices are outstanding, too, which Brett — my accountant — finds useful.
- Check off
- Again, to be perfectly honest, I don’t use this because my whiteboard works just fine but it’s another application I keep around just in case. Basically it’s a to-do list that nests nicely in your toolbar (you know, next to your IGTD, Google Desktop, Feedreader and Gmail icons) and you can add things and check ‘em off as needed. If you do most of your work in coffee shops or something it’d probably be pretty darn handy.
Because I adore productivity tools, let me know if you know of any handy Mac apps that I’m missing. You PC people, well, there’s just no hope for you but you’re welcome to leave stuff in the comments in the interest of others of your type!
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Tags: Julia
Useful stuff
Nov 12, 2007 Read/heard/seen
I use gmail and my goal is to keep my inbox under 50 emails because that’s how many fit on one page. But for the past few weeks I’ve been able to keep my inbox under 20 (and sometimes 10!) thanks to this nifty email service.
Sandy is an automated system that let’s me clear my inbox out quickly. It’s buggy but it’s just come out of beta and everyone can sign up for it and give it a try. How it works is that every time you get an email that needs an action but not a right-away action you tell Sandy to remember it for you. Say, for example, that you want to follow up with an editor on Wednesday and there’s a client who asked you to get back to them next week and someone else is asking a question that you need to look up on your other computer (this happened to me a lot last week). You just email Sandy and tell “her” to remind you at such-and-such a time then you delete (or archive) your email and forget about it.
It’s been a big help to me so I’m sharing it here in case it’s a big help to you. (A shout out to Web Worker Daily for the heads-up!)
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Protected: Brothers
Nov 12, 2007 Pictures
Brett is the one on the left!
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Tags: Noah
It’s a basic human right
Nov 12, 2007 Adoption
Because I am easily astonished (and live in an adoption world populated by you nice, reasonable, progressive people), I can’t believe that open adoption records are still controversial.
States urged to open adoption records - CNN.com
In New Jersey, where a long-running campaign to pass an open-records bill was derailed again this year, the opposition includes New Jersey Right to Life and the New Jersey Catholic Conference. They argue that eliminating the prospect of confidentiality might prompt a pregnant single woman to choose abortion rather than adoption.Marlene Lao-Collins of the Catholic Conference said she knew of no data supporting the concerns about abortions, “but even if it just happened once, that would be one too many.”
Nationwide, one of the major foes of open records is the National Council for Adoption, which represents many religiously affiliated adoption agencies. Its president, Thomas Atwood, says any reconnection between an adopted adult and a birthparent should be by mutual consent — which is the policy in most states.
“I empathize with anybody who feels the need to know their biological parents’ identity,” Atwood said. “But I don’t think the law should enable them to force themselves on someone who has personal reasons for wanting confidentiality.”
So wait — open records are a pro-life tactic??? They’re arguing that even one POSSIBLE embryo lost is enough to keep actual living, breathing people from their constitutional right to know their birth histories — it’s just ludicrous.
Want to read more about the history of closed adoption? Check out How Adoption Grew Secret and then support the rights of adoptees.
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Tags: open adoption
