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Jon Blake 2.0: Baby's name goes digital
Monday, February 02, 2004
By Melissa Slager
The Grand Rapids Press
Should he follow in his father's footsteps, the first software program Jon Blake Cusack 2.0 might write is for a hospital birth certificate that accepts numbers.
No, that's not an error message -- the 6-day-old baby's name includes "2.0."
And it took several attempts before Holland Community Hospital's computer accepted the more technologically hip version of "Jr."
The newborn's name is a nod to the numbering system that is used to distinguish second-generation computer software from earlier versions that carry the same name.
You guessed it: 2.0's father is a computer software and hardware engineer.
"I'm sure we'll have some struggles, but we think it's cool," said Jon Cusack, 34, of Holland.
"Social Security will probably have a cow with it," added mother Jamie Cusack, 27. "But they got it on the birth certificate, so it's legal."
Family friend Steve Beele, also a software engineer, just wonders what will happen if another Cusack baby enters the world. "We'll have to figure out what to do -- 2.5, or something."
Beele, 47, of Fennville, gets the credit for coming up with the name. He and Jon Cusack meet for breakfast each Wednesday at the Windmill Restaurant in Holland, and in the months before the birth used the time to bat around name ideas.
There were many ideas, but 2.0 was the light-bulb moment. "How about 2.0?" Beele recalled suggesting. "Jon goes, 'Yeah!' Jamie goes, 'No way!' "
Jamie Cusack said she hesitated before agreeing to the name. "Like any new mom, who wants to put a number in their child's name?" she said Sunday.
Polling attendees at baby showers didn't help her husband's case. "It was a unanimous 'no,'" he said.
But a desire for a unique name that reflects the couple's passion for their computer business -- and a movie they saw shortly before the birth about an abandoned baby known as 1900 for the year he was born -- tipped the scale.
"I finally came around," Jamie Cusack said.
It took the mother's agreement to convince hospital workers and grandparents she and her husband weren't joking. Still, Jon says the first question they get from people is: "You're not serious, are you?"
Erik Schnepp, who also was at the fateful breakfast meeting, said the name choice befits his friend. "That's Jon. It's typical -- he's an engineer and likes his computers."
Schnepp, 32, and his wife, Deb, 37, are expecting a child in April. "I don't think we'll have a 2.0, though," the recent business grad said.
Jon Cusack owns two computer-related companies: Westshore Designs and Cusack Music, which makes custom electronics such as guitar amplifier pedals. He plays guitar and mandolin at the couple's church, Central Wesleyan.
Jamie Cusack says she likely will take their son with her as she helps at the Westshore Designs office, off River and 7th streets.
The youngster will be called by his middle name, Blake, at home and at school, his parents say. And they will deal with name-sensitive situations, such as a driver's license, as they come.
But with news of their baby's numeric suffix spreading -- even a national network news program called -- they know nicknames have a way of sticking.
He's already been called "2.0" and "Johnny No. 5," the latter a nod to the affable robot of the "Short Circuit" movies, his father said.
Ottawa County Clerk Dan Krueger -- whose is in charge of issuing birth certificates in the county -- said nothing surprises him these days.
"Some people decide because it's a great day they're going to name their kid Sky Blue," Krueger said.
He wouldn't be surprised to see more 2.0 versions in the future.
"That probably is going to be at some time in the future more meaningful than junior or senior," he said.
For now, Jon and Jamie are doing what any first-time parents do -- enjoying their newborn.
Jon Blake Cusack 2.0 entered the world at 9:38 a.m. Tuesday by Caesarean section at 9 pounds, 8-ounces and 22 inches long. He's been home since Friday.
"He's in perfect shape," his dad said.
As far as versions go, the younger Jon Blake looks much like the elder Jon Blake with -- one would guess -- upgrades from his mother.
