I’ve decided it’s time to travel again. Matt and I need to go somewhere. I’m ashamed of how long it’s been since I last left the country – my last trip was to Jamaica, in December 1996/January 1997, and if the Caribbean doesn’t count (which I don’t think it does), I haven’t really travelled outside the country since I returned from Amsterdam in January 1994. More than 11 years ago!

This is quite a turnaround for me. My family and I lived in Japan for three years when I was in high school. During that time we visited Hong Kong, Thailand, and Australia. I spent a summer in the U.K. and Ireland and a couple of weeks in Israel. I’ve also been to Paris and Amsterdam. But for the last ten years I’ve led a domestic life, like Cincinnatus cultivating his farm after grand adventures.

It’s time to venture forth again. There are so many places I want to see, and Matt’s never left the country. I want to go to Rome, Berlin, Vienna. Maybe Florence and Venice. And Prague. And Paris again. Not all at once. But yes, I feel like going somewhere in Europe. And I love cities.

My passport expired two years ago, so I’ve printed out the renewal form. I’ll need to get some passport photos. I also need to set aside a little bit more money than I’ve currently got set aside. And maybe this weekend I’ll go to a bookstore and browse the travel guides.

Travel is good for you. It breaks up your routine. It gives you new experiences and perspectives. At its best, it shifts the trajectory of your life, even if just a little.

So that’s it. We need to go somewhere.

Hello Jeff,

Thank you for your interest in Google AdSense. After reviewing your application, our program specialists have found that it does not comply with our policies. Therefore, we’re unable to accept you into Google AdSense at this time.

We did not approve your application for the reasons listed below. If you are able to resolve these issues, please feel free to reply to this email for reconsideration when you have made the changes.

Issues:

– Inappropriate language

———————

Further detail:

Inappropriate language: We’ve found that your website contains content that isn’t in compliance with our program policies. We don’t allow websites with excessive profanity or potentially offensive content to participate in Google AdSense. Please review our policies (https://www.google.com/adsense/policies?hl=en_US) for a complete list of site content not allowed on web pages.

———————

For a complete list of AdSense criteria, please visit:
https://www.google.com/adsense/policies?hl=en_US
https://www.google.com/adsense/localized-terms?hl=en_US

If you would like to submit another website for consideration, simply reply to this email and provide us with the URL. If this new website complies with our program policies, we will help you start delivering Google ads in minutes.

Please contact us at adsense-support@google.com if you have any questions.

Regards,

The Google Team

Well, fuck.

I couldn’t sleep, so I was thinking about the rules of succession to the British throne. Why? Because I’m currently reading The System of the World, Neal Stephenson’s latest novel, and part of the plot involves British succession circa 1714. Also because I’m a dork.

Anyway, I found the general algorithm for succession to the British throne:

The procedure is roughly as follows. If individual A is dead or ineligible:

1. look for A’s eldest-born male B (if none were born, go to 3).

2. If B is dead or ineligible, go to 1 with “B” instead of “A”.

3. If no candidate meeting the criteria is found, return to A, find the the next eldest-born male C; repeat steps 1-3 with “C” instead of “A”, until a candidate is found or all of A’s male children are exhausted.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 with “female” instead of “male”.

5. If no candidate has been found yet, go to A’s royal parent D and look for D’s next eldest-born male, repeating steps 1-4 with “D” instead of “A”.

6. If no candidate has been found, go to D’s royal parent E and repeat steps 1-5.

7. Keep going climbing up the royal genealogy. If you reach step 6 with D = Electress Sophia, there are no candidates left (this will take a while, because there are about 4360 individuals descended from her: see the list).

Also, you have to have been born in wedlock and you can’t ever have been Catholic. (Those picky Anglicans.)

So, yeah, there are more than 4,000 individuals in line to the throne. So much for King Ralph.

The more specific reason I looked this up is because I was wondering if Prince William would still be in line to the throne if Prince Charles died, or if the next eldest son of Queen Elizabeth would then become heir. It turns out that William’s place in line is secure. Once the heir (Charles) has a son (William), that can’t be broken. Britain follows primogeniture, i.e., “male heirs take precedence over female, with children representing their deceased ancestors; and under the rule of primogeniture, the older son precedes the younger.”

Anyway, maybe I can fall asleep now.