Sometimes I Get Bored At Stoplights...

..and I'm able to take pictures.

These are some of the perks of driving a scooter. Or perhaps just having a camera phone.

Summer Doldrum..

Not to mention summer boredom.

My brain is withering away while I'm not in school this summer. This is the first time I've actually thought I shouldn't be wasting a summer away doing nothing. Well, technically I'm not doing "nothing." I'm working around 35 to 40 hours per week, which only barely keeps my head above water 'til the sweet sweet sound of $€₤₣₧₪ comes my way in the form of [STUDENT LOAN]. That should happen 'round August.

--

I'm looking forward with great anticipation and furious restlessness-ish (mouthful that) to the release in paperback of Sandworms of Dune, the much anticipated follow-up to Hunters of Dune, both written by the son of legendary Dune creator and author Frank Herbert, Brian (and his co-author Kevin J. Anderson). Finally I will have some closure to this story, which has been lingering in my psyche like an old high school acquaintance at the 10 year reunion near the bar, hoping someone--anyone--will come talk to them.

--

I had to take a message at work today, and while taking down this man's name, I was reminded of a really funny thing that I can't now for the life of me remember.... the beginning of Spaceballs when the ship kept going by the camera, and going by, and going by... I'll try to replay the conversation as best as I can recall:

[ME] Capel Rugs, this is Jon.
[THE GUY] Hi can I speak to Marie please?
Uh, she's with a customer just now, can I take a message and have her call you?
Sure, my name is Paul Medjiewzcavcrmqrlski.
Ok, [slight pause] Paul--
Here lemme--
Yeah, I need some help--
Yeah, I'll spell it, it's M-E-D-J-I-E-W-
{{during this time I'm in my head attempting to guess at the next letter}}
{{S?}} -Z- {{R?}} -C- {{I?}} -A- {{V?}} -V- {{YES! uh..oops too late}} -C- {{uh..}} -R- {{a vowel?}} -M- {{Damnit!}} -Q- {{Q??}} -R- {{it's still going}} -L- {{And not a vowel to be found...I wonder if it's Polish?}} -S-K-I. {{That seals it}}

Is that Polish?
That's right!
Yeah, I've been there.
Ok--
I'll be sure to give her the message.
Great--
Thanks, have a good one.

This call took approximately 17 minutes.

Well it was funny to me.

--

I have adopted a NASCAR Driver! (not to mention a completely different voice--think T. Herman Zweibel--but only for that one sentence.)

His name be #18.

#18 doesn't care what he drives, as long as he's winning. #18 is only ~5 years older than his #, but he knows how to win. Winning is what he has helped Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing do 5 times this year (plus when Denny Hamlin won, who's also with Toyota and JGR). I don't care that he's with Toyota, I just care that he drives the shit out of his car and is constantly in the mix. He's damn entertaining to watch.

For those of you who don't know, he's also [South Park Southern-Guy Voice] the guy-what-put Junior into the wall at Richmond 3 laps before the checkered, that fucker [/South Park Southern-Guy Voice].

That's important because Junior (Dale Earnhardt's son) is the Anointed One to many NASCAR fans. Lots. Tons. Like, all of 'em. Even me, who rooted for him as he finally broke his 70+ "Cup Points Race" losing streak in Michigan a few weeks ago. Some folks don't like 18, but the fans cheered his victory in Sonoma last weekend, at one of the few NASCAR road races. The kid's a gamer, and he's hell behind the wheel.

Now, if only I could get a #18 sticker for my scooter (which remains nameless), one without M&M's all over it..

Genuine Roughhouse 50

When I first bought the scooter, it was restricted to only 35 mph, and it didn't accelerate very well. For $70, I had it de-restricted, and now goes 45mph (50+ down a hill!) and gets there much quicker. I'm so happy with it.

Livin' like a damn Euro-commie-hippie.

So far I'm averaging right around 78mpg. It was actually less the first tank of gas, but I think that's because I was following the break-in procedure the dealer talked to me about (varying the throttle). I only have about 280 miles on it so far, so I wonder if it will "loosen up" after awhile. Some folks on BBSs have talked about how their acceleration, top end and gas mileage get slightly better after this happens.

Speed is just a state of mind..

So I was riding down my alley way tonight after work, and I had to go around a guy walking in the road. He caught up to me while I was locking my scoot up to the telephone pole outside my front door: "Man, you got it made there!" Me: "Yup."

"That thing must get 50mpg!"

{big grin} "80."

"Oh shit! I gotta get me one of them!"

{slapping the bed of my truck} "It's way better than driving this baby!"

[end scene]

I've had that conversation so many times these past couple weeks. Well, except for the truck-slapping part.

It's Outside My Front Door

And it's green and goes 35 mph (45 downhill!) and cost me $3.60 to fill up. Premium. 93 Octane.

Have.

I did a practice commute tonight. It took me about 35 minutes--20 minutes longer than usual--but I'm ok with that.

More pics and stories to follow.

Finally..

After pulling about seven all-nighters (and promising each time never to do it again), the semester is finally over! [much applause, whistles and scattered catcalls]

So much relief, now I can work all summer and make money. What am I currently employed doing? I've titled my job thusly: Rug Jockey. Basically I roll up the rugs, clip them, hoist them onto my shoulder, climb up a ladder and hang them up. If someone wants to see a rug on the ground, I use two bamboo sticks to un-clip the rugs one clip at a time, doing the two on the outside last, deftly striking them at the same time to use gravity to bring the rug down in one fluid motion.

Worst part about the job: 29 miles round trip. 19mpg + 25 gal tank + $3.50 and up per gallon of 87 = $75 every two weeks. My solution?

Want.

The full monty on this thing here.

Conservatively, it would save me 60 bucks a week month in gas. I'd be paying it off for a little while; it's out the door price is around $2100. But check it: I don't need to get a special license for it, I don't need to put plates on it, I don't need insurance on it, and I don't need to pay taxes on it every year. How FREAKING awesome would that be?

Unfortunately my credit score is in the low 600s. I'm high risk because I've never had a credit card (no self trust). But I'm 28 now, damnit. I think I can get a credit card and not go on a wild shopping spree within 30 seconds of activating it (except for this scooter, but that doesn't count).

Plus, if I got really crazy (and rich), I could do this with it.

It's almost too much. Almost.

I just received my hush money stimulus package money last night, and I really want to do something anti-establishment with it. Wouldn't this be just perfect?

I Wish To Meet This Person

Saw this the other day. I was laughing so hard at the lower bumper sticker, I didn't even see the other one 'til I got home.

New Causal Variable Of WW I Recently Uncovered

We all know Franz Ferdinand's assassination in Sarajevo was one of many causes of the Great War. A second, though more indirect cause, was the death of the Kaiser Wilhelm I in 1888 and the subsequent ouster of Otto Von Bismarck--and the complex system of alliances he created and manipulated for the ~20 years before--by Wilhelm II. A third cause was the total commitment of the French military to purely offensive war (rather than maintaining a balance between offense and defense) around the turn of the century leading to a "Cult of the Offensive" in other European states, the crux of which was 'defense will lose, offense will win.' A fourth cause was the UK's construction of the HMS Dreadnought in 1906, spawning a naval arms race and triggering a security dilemma across Europe.

Et cetera, et cetera.

However, new documents have been unearthed recently in the Vatican Archives, and they only further obscure the beginnings and causes of the war.

Essentially, after the assassination, Austria-Hungary wanted to make the Serbs pay for their crime. After all, it was a group of Serbian nationalists calling themselves the "Black Spoon" who shot the Archduke and his wife. They were simply fed up with not only Austro-Hungarian oppression, but also the strict codes regarding the consumption of baked goods and the insistence on using the official utensil of the Empire (and unofficially of Germany): the Fork.

The Austro-Hungarians turned to their allies--the Germans--for reassurance. They received a blank check from the Germans for full military support. Both states knew if the Austro-Hungarians put down the Serbs, it would inflame Russia and possibly start a war. What they didn't know was that Russia had made a secret pact with France to come to her aid in the event of a German attack, and vice versa. The reason for this secret pact: the French Silk Pie and Russian Spoon industry were interconnected.

All over France at the time people were enjoying their delicious national dessert with stainless steel, high quality Russian spoons. The French hated the fork, which they saw as representing Teutonic values. However, they came to adore the spoon because Russia was seen as a solid ally when no other state would pledge to come to her aid in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war. Indeed, though spoons were initially produced in Russia, they came to be seen as a symbol of French nationalism and pride, especially after Russia exited the war earlier than the other allies.

Anyway, in July of 1914, about 3 weeks after the assassination, the Austro-Hungarians gave the Serbians an ultimatum consisting of about 10 requirements. The Austro-Hungarians didn't think the Serbians would acquiesce, but they did, except for one: They didn't want to use the dreaded forks anymore. They wanted to be free to use whatever utensil they desired (Serbia was also known for their complex and delicious soups, the makers of which had been forced underground in the years prior along with their outlawed spoons).

Austria-Hungary used this denial as a pretext to mobilize their troops against Serbia. As expected, Russia mobilized in support of the Serbs.

Germany then decided to implement their secret war plan code-named: The Schlieffen Plan (aka Forkekreig). They knew Russia would take a long time to mobilize, so they planned on marching through Belgium unmolested, around the French troops mobilized on the German border, to take Paris and secure a French surrender. This being successful, they planned on turning around to meet the Russians in the east. Forkekreig was supposed to allow Germany to fight on one front at a time.

Unfortunately, the Germans wussed out, and left about 100,000 of their troops to defend Berlin, instead of sending them all like the plan stated.

After World War I, a movement was started to put both forks and spoons in the silverware drawers of French and German households. Companies were persuaded to sell both kinds of eating utensils in combo packs for people to buy, and an extra compartment was added to the utensil holders in drawers for the new silverware. The idea was metaphoric in nature: If spoons and forks could exist peacefully in the same drawer, why couldn't France and Germany coexist on the Continent?

This movement was temporarily sidelined during World War II. In fact, the French were known to throw forks at the occupying German forces not only because of the statement of French pride inherent in the act, but also because the points of the fork might actually draw some blood. Also, fleeing French families were known to take their forks with them, leaving only the spoons for the German soldiers and hence lowering German morale.

This was the start of the United Nations, and is why forks and spoons are seen in silverware drawers together today.

Unlocked Cell Phone

I unlocked my cell phone today. It was easy, I called T-Mobile yesterday and they e-mailed me the unlock code today. This means I can travel overseas and still use my phone. All I have to do is change out the SIM card to a pre-paid one in whatever country I go to.

Am I planning on going anywhere? No. But if I did, I wouldn't be without my trusty telefono.

In other news, I tried hax0ring my way into a class for next semester and failed miserably. I set up a script to attempt to get into Homeland Security 330 every 30 seconds. I thought I was being clever, but they cut you off after 2000 attempts.

FAIL:

"You have made too many attempts to register this term. Contact your registrar for assistance."

That took about 8 hours or so. All told, I attempted to register 2133 times according to the guy I spoke with over the phone. "Mr. McLaughlin, you might want to make sure you don't have a virus on your computer. It appears you attempted to register for a class over 2000 times."

Heh, no, I don't have a virus...

Why FWDs Suck

Getting e-mail is fun. Getting FWDs isn't. I hate them. I usually delete them reflexively.

There are two main types of forwards: the political FWD and the FWD-this-on-for-good-luck or FWD-this-so-Timmy-can-live or some other bullshit. The political ones usually contain inane, inaccurate or downright incorrect information, and serve mainly to spread stupidity. The second type are no better, but are probably more prevalent.

(I do acknowledge a third type of FWD--the Joke FWD--but because of the associative property, they are ignored as quickly as possible).

I'm feeling all atwitter about this because I received one such political FWD from a person in my extended family. It was about illegal immigration, and I couldn't help but respond. I will reprint the letter here in full, along with my response. Keep in mind, the audience for my response is mostly unknown to me.

Here is the FWD:

> What costs more per year than the Iraq War?
>
> I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again
> until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of
> reading them. I have included the URL's for verification of the
> following facts:
>
> 1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each
> year. http://tinyurl.com/zob77
>
> 2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such
> as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.
> http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
>
> 3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.
> http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
>
> 4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school
> education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of
> English ! http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html
>
> 5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the
> American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
> http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
>
> 6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
> http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
>
> 7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.
> http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt..01.html
>
> 8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare and
> Social Services by the American taxpayers.
> http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html
>
> 9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused
> by the illegal aliens.
> http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
>
> 10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's
> two-and-a-half times that of white non-illegal aliens.. In particular,
> their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the
> US http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html
>
> 11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens
> that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens
> from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth,
> heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border.
> Homeland Security Report. http://tinyurl.com/t9sht
>
> 12. The National Policy Institute, 'estimated that the total cost of
> mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average
> cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.'
> http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf
>
> 13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to
> their countries of origin. http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm
>
> 14. 'The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes
> Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States ' http://www.drdsk
> .com/articleshtml
> Total cost is a whooping ... $338.3 BILLION A YEAR!!!
> If this doesn't bother you then just delete the message, but on the other
> hand, if it does raise the hair on the back of your neck, then forward
> it.
>
> Snopes is provided for doubters:
> http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/bankofamerica.asp

>
> Social Security Change For 2008
>
> The United States Senate voted to extend Social Security Benefits to
> Illegal Aliens beginning in 2008. The following are the senators who
> voted to give illegal aliens Social Security benefits. They are grouped
> by home state. If a state is not listed, there was no voting
> representative.
>
> Alaska : Stevens (R)
> Arizona : McCain (R)
> Arkansas : Lincoln (D) Pryor (D)
> Califo rnia : Boxer (D) Feinstein (D)
> Colorado : Salazar (D)
> Connecticut : Dodd (D) Lieberman (D)
> Delaware : Biden (D) Carper (D)
> Florida : Martinez (R)
> Hawaii : Akaka (D) Inouye (D)
> Illinois : Durbin (D) Obama (D)
> Indiana : Bayh (D) Lugar (R)
> Iowa : Harkin (D)
> Kansas : Brownback (R)
> Louisiana : Landrieu (D)
> Maryland : Mikulski (D) Sarbanes (D)
> Massachusetts : Kennedy (D) Kerry (D)
> Montana : Baucus (D)
> Nebraska : Hagel (R)
> Nevada : Reid (D)
> New Jersey : Lautenberg (D) Menendez (D)
> New Mexico : Bingaman (D)
> New York : Clinton (D) Schumer (D)
> North Dakota : Dorgan (D)
> Ohio : DeWine (R) Voinovich(R)
> Oregon : Wyden (D)
> Pennsylvania : Specter (R)
> Rhode Island : Chafee (R) Reed (D)
> South Carolina : Graham (R)
> South Dakota : Johnson (D)
> Vermont : Jeffords (I) Leahy (D)
> Washington : Cantwell (D) Murray (D)
> West Virginia : Rockefeller (D), by Not Voting
> Wisconsin : Feingold (D) Kohl (D)
>
>
> SEND THIS TO ALL YOU KNOW. THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES
> NEEDS TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION, UNLESS THEY DON'T MIND SHARING THEIR
> SOCIAL SECURITY WITH FOREIGN WORKERS who didn't pay in a dime into the
> fund.
>
> LET US SHOW OUR LEADERS IN WASHINGTON 'PEOPLE POWER' AND THE POWER OF THE
> INTERNET. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN, DEMOCRAT OR
> INDEPENDENT! KEEP IT GOING!!

And here is my response:

I don't get it. Is this supposed to make me feel bad that we are spending so much on illegal aliens, or that we're spending so much on the Iraq War?

I'm actually writing a paper right now on Illegal Immigration, and Lou Dobbs (who is cited often in this e-mail) represents only one side of the argument (and in fact some of the links in the e-mail don't even work). Of all the citations listed here, www.cis.org is a probably the most in depth and non-partisan. I would recommend that site for further reading on this issue. As for the Congress, there are plenty of options available to them; a primary roadblock to passing any sort of reform is the ideologues who refuse to acknowledge any form of compromise.

I don't want to bore everybody with my opinions on what should or shouldn't be done, I'm merely pointing out this is only ONE side of the argument.

Additionally, comparing the illegal immigration issue to the War in Iraq is like comparing apples to oranges. Admittedly, it all boils down to dollars and cents, but the e-mail could make the argument better by contrasting it to the monumental amount of pork-barrel spending appropriated by Congress, which goes into the actual budget. How is this different than the money Congress appropriates for the Iraq War? Simply put, funding for the war has largely been in the form of Emergency Supplemental Appropriations, which don't count against budget caps. Take a look at figure two (on page 12 of the .pdf) on this website:

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/89xx/doc8971/02-11-WarCosts_Letter.pdf

You'll notice these figures come from the Congressional Budget Office, who's mandate is to provide:

• Objective, nonpartisan, and timely analyses to aid in economic and budgetary decisions on the wide array of programs covered by the federal budget and
  
  
• The information and estimates required for the Congressional budget process.

[ quoted from http://cbo.gov/aboutcbo/ ]

Something to chew on..

Jon McLaughlin

If you're still with me here, let me ask you, the reader: how are these FWDs increasing our understanding of the issues?

Let me take this to another level: When the television was first introduced, it was hailed as a potentially great teaching instrument. Can the internet not be the fulfillment of that goal? I probably am asking too much of people, but hopefully the internet will be able to provide both sides of any given issue much better than TV has done.

Anyway, I've gotten off track.

The point is, don't send me FWD's. If you do, expect either an argument or total silence in response.

Jon

PS Happy Birthday to Me!

Our Old Roommate -- We Hardly Knew Ye

Our poor, hapless former roommate. We had but a scant few weeks to get to know you. Yes, much of our relationship was soured due to some epic miscommunication. It's true, there was some hostility after that, probably on both sides.

Ah well, it's all over now. Like the Browns leaving Cleveland for greener pastures in Baltimore (that's like saying you'd rather eat the chicken's liver than the pancreas), you found it necessary to pack all your belongings up in the middle of the night and skip out. No note, no goodbye, no good luck in all your future endeavors. No, you chose the fly-by-night option. That's cool, we're not judging you. We're actually a little sad to see you go. We had some good times while you were here; we shared some laughs, drank some beers, talked about whatever.

We do have a couple questions though. What was the greasy stuff on the wall at the head of the bed? We can only assume it was hair grease, but one never knows in these situations. It didn't seem like you were a frequent visitor to the shower, so we can only speculate. Also, why did you find it necessary to leave the cigarettes burning in the window sill? Maybe it's just us, but we tend to have a modicum of respect for other people's belongings, especially brand new windows. And it was cool that you duck-taped the door shut and put a piece of cloth under the door while you smoked to evade our no-smoking rule, but couldn't you have at least picked off the duck-tape residue after you were finished? I'm just sayin'..

So goodbye, former roommate, off in the night wherever you may be! It was unfortunate that we hardly got to know ye!

Arrested Development

Unfortunately, I never watched the show when it was actually airing, so God willing, there will be a movie. Barring that, I can only tell people how freaking hilarious the show is, and if you've never seen it, you should. Unfortunately, Fox or someone had youtube take down all the clips. It's so self-referential and smartly written, it really is too bad it got taken off the air.

Favorite quotes:

White Power Bill: [as he's stabbing Gob] White power!
Gob: [gasping] I'm.. white..
----
Michael: Maybe you can take a date up there.
Lucille: Oh, how am I supposed to find someone willing to go into that musty old claptrap?
Michael: ..........(stares)..The cabin! Yes, th.. well, that would be difficult too.
----
Lindsay: How do you think I feel? Bob Loblaw’s a handsome, professional man and I’m only used to... well, none of those things.
Tobias: Okay, Lindsay, are you forgetting that I was a professional twice over — an analyst and a therapist. The world’s first analrapist.
Lindsay: Yes, and you were almost arrested for those business cards.
----
Gob: My God, what is this feeling?
Michael: Well, you know the-the feeling that you’re... that you’re feeling is-is what many of us call “a feeling.”
Gob: But it’s not like envy, or even hungry.
Michael: Could it be love?
Gob: I know what an erection feels like, Michael! No, it’s the opposite. It’s... it’s like my heart is getting hard.

EDIT: um, duh?

Obama and Great Expectations

Yes, the guy can give you goosebumps while giving a victory speech. Yes, it seems like he is speaking to everybody. His landslide primary victory in South Carolina gives him a lot of momentum going into Super-Duper Tuesday on February 5th. I haven't figured out who I'm going to vote for on February 12th yet, so this is my way of fleshing out who stands for what and why I should care.

Obama isn't heavy on specifics. He's trying to do one of the hardest thing in American presidential politics: create a cult of personality--or more specifically--a tidal wave of "hope" and "change," whatever those things mean.

So far, he's given three speeches that were incredible. The first was at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, when he introduced himself to the nation as the "skinny kid with a funny name," and vaulted himself into the talk of 2008 Presidential politics. The second was when he won in Iowa, saying "You'll be able to look back with pride and say, that this was the moment when it all began," and the third happened earlier tonight, when he declared this election to be ". . .about the past versus the future."

It's no secret this guy has skills. He is an amazing orator, and a pretty great speechwriter as well (he wrote his 2004 DNConvention speech). But what about the issues?

I went to his online site to see his positions. It turns out, he's pretty moderate in a lot of areas, as far as I can tell. For instance: he's down with Clean Coal and Nuclear energy. Now, I wouldn't have any problem with nuclear energy as long as the companies who actually run the nuke plants did so with the same discipline as the military, who maintain their nuclear powered vessels with an amazing concern for the sailors on board the ships, and are constantly making sure everything is running in optimal tolerances. If the civilian nuclear industry ever got that conscientious, I think we'd all feel much better about our nuclear power plants.

As far as clean coal goes, I guess I need to read more about it. To be honest, I'm looking for a presidential candidate to present an Apollo-type solution to our reliance on oil and other fossil fuels. I know a few of them have talked about it, but whether or not they are serious remains to be seen. Maybe it will take longer than 10 years, but I want to see the US putting some real money into developing alternative sources of energy. With our innovation capability, and the productivity of Americans to achieve our collective goals, I know we could fix this problem, and then be able to sell it to the rest of the world. With all of our resources and technical problem solving ability, and given that whoever comes up with the technology to solve this problem will be instantly rich, I can't see this lingering more than 4 years if we get a president who fully commits to ending the problem.

I guess that's the key. I've heard Giuliani mention it, but I don't think there's any way he wins the Republican nomination. However, Edwards is becoming more and more interesting to me. I know he's very protectionist when it comes to trade issues, but on the environment and climate change, I think he has the right idea.

Of course, he has the same problem as Giuliani: he's not going to be elected.

So, then, who do I vote for? I know the primaries are about voting for who you *really* want to win, and damn the consequences (at least, that's how I view them). I don't know yet. They all kind of suck. I realize I haven't talked about Hillary yet, but that is only because I am totally biased against her.

Allow me to pause here, and give you my drive-by take on the '08 Presidential political scene, specifically as it relates to Hillary:

I can't stand another Clinton. I can't stand another Bush. We fought a war to get away from (among other things) familial rule and Roman numerals after leaders' names. You can tell me about the Adams', the Harrison's, or even the Roosevelt's, but the simple truth is, since 1980, there has been either a Bush or a Clinton on the ballot for POTUS or VPOTUS every single election (this could be the 8th straight election). I abhor that idea, and hope it doesn't end up continuing.

Anyway, let me get to the title of the post. If Obama wins the presidency, he will have the greatest of expectations on his shoulders. He will be expected to work legislative magic on almost a weekly basis. Indeed, throughout his entire first term, he will be expected to be above the partisan fray that has plagued DC since this great experiment was started.

In short, he will be expected to turn the miraculous into reality. Whether or not that is possible remains to be seen, but the idea that it could happen was strengthened a little bit tonight. Yes, the speeches are powerful, but will they be enough? Will his vague message of change be enough to topple the formidable power of the Clinton Machine in the February 5th states? We can only wait..

I for one, will wait with breath that is bated...The turnout for the Democratic party has *far* outstripped the turnout in the Republican races, which means that in the end, the Democrats are pretty much nominating the next president. Who they nominate is very important to me, and I hope it is important to people in the February 5th states as well.

New Blog

Let me be the first to officially welcome myself to the vast wasteland of internet blogging. Yay!

This is where I'll be posting stuff that interests me. Or maybe annoys me. Or is just funny. Or it's a place I'll be using to put off homework...who knows. Senryu:

There are already
Millions of bloggers online.
Now there is one more.

Procrastination.
My homework won't do itself.
I should go do it.

I'm going to re-post my last myspace blog next, so this space won't be completely empty. Don't worry, it's only from last night, it's not old.