John,
I saw this thread and thought Hey, been here, done this.
I hope by now you have your passport and get to travel a little out of the country.
I got mine this winter because they won't let me in New Zealand without one. A little tip. It takes 4-6 weeks from the time you apply until you get it. In my case it took 8 weeks because of my raggedy old birth certificate. Hey, It's 66 years old and I got it from my dad's stuff when he passed in '89.
If you are making international trip plans in the near future and do not have a passport or yours is expired, order it early. You can't book an international flight or even a cruise without it.

About the PSC, I plan to take some with me to NZ and try them out.