Football and FoodTV

Stupid people at Borders bookstore. No one will sell me my book. OK, so it isn't officially released until Tuesday, but I want it now!

I also struck out on replacing my favorite disc golf Frisbee (yes, it's a Frisbee brand disc, I'm not just calling it that). The only place I've found Frisbees is Sportsman's Warehouse (near my parents' house here in Memphis). They usually have putters, mid-ranges, and a starter pack (putter, mid-range, and driver boxed together). Today, they had the starter pack and the mid-range, but no putter alone. I could have bought the starter pack, but I have plenty of the other discs, and I'm cheap. So no joy.

Let's hope I avoid strike 3 today (though I might not know until after the day is done). More tomorrow.

Don't Make Me Smack You with My Wedding Gift

Russell and Laura gt married today. Russell didn't cry during his vows, and the entire wedding party didn't break out into a cachophony of laughter. It was a very nice ceremony and reception. There was more afterwards, but it involved heavy drinking, so I wasn't really interested. Congratulations to the happy couple, though.

After the wedding, I went home, stopping off at Germantown Commissary for some barbecue. Central BBQ may be better, but the Commissary is top-notch. And nothing beats Memphis barbecue.

Some other interesting developments, but details will have to wait until things are clearer. More tomorrow.

McCain-Palin 2008

I'd been thinking Romney and hoping for Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas senator). I'd seen Sarah Palin's name bounced around a few times, but not much recently. I didn't know much about her before today, but I have to say that the more I know, the more excited I am about the ticket. She's solidly socially and fiscally conservative, which balances McCain's more moderate stances (though he is strongly pro-life, as is she). She's a reformer and opponent of pork barrel spending (which McCain has to love, and I know I do). She's young and attractive (runner-up to Miss Alaska several years ago). She's a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, an avid hunter, worked hard for a living (commercial fishing), and her son enlisted in the Army and is preparing to fight in Iraq. The Obama campaign has the audacity to impugn her experience. First, that's ludacris coming from Barack "Freshman Senator" Huessein "Most of That Time Spent Campaigning for President" Obama. Second, McCain is running for President. Yes, she's a heartbeat away, but we expect her to learn and become more experienced with every passing day. Also, when Obama was first getting elected to the state senate, she'd been in elected office for 5 years. She may not have the same time in an office of a McCain or Biden, but she trumps Obama. Third, what experience she does have comes as an executive - mayor, then governor. She was commander-in-chief of the Alaska National Guard. While not the Navy SEALS, it's more than Obama can say. While her foreign policy experience doesn't come from "living overseas," she's worked with the Canadian government on an oil and gas pipeline (it's more than you've done).

I think my favorite thing about Gov. Palin is that she seems very authentic. She was a hunter before she was running for office. She saw problems in her state and ran for office to fix them. When a corrupt establishment (of her own party) got in the way, she defeated the incumbent (Republican) governor and took out the trash. The most telling example of her truth to her beliefs is the commitment to have her youngest child (now four months old) who she knew would be born with Down syndrome. Many people, even those leaning pro-life, would have ended the pregnancy. The thought had to cross her mind; you can't be human and not think about it. She had the child. She had a choice, and she chose life. I don't take a hard-and-fast position on abortion. I think it's wrong, but I admit there is a moral element to my belief. Until we, as a nation, can come to a general consensus, I have a hard time imposing my moral standards on the rest of the country (at least until I take over the world). I do, however, have the utmost respect for a person who takes a position and stands by it, even when it's difficult to do, especially when it's diffcult to do.

I haven't even mentioned directly that she's a she. That has to make Hillary furious. Hillary was never going to be the first woman nominated as VP (that's one good thing Geraldine Ferraro did), but Palin has a very good shot at being the first female president. My preferred scenario for that is for McCain to serve, and Palin to get the nomination when he steps aside (after a term or two).

I feared a McCain-Lieberman ticket. I foresaw McCain-Romney. I hoped for McCain-Hutchison. I love the McCain-Palin ticket. I think Lieberman gets a Cabinet spot; I think Romney gets one (as both should), but I love the choice of Sarah Palin. Order me up a mooseburger, I've got some politickin' to do! More tomorrow.

I Should Know Better

Today, I went to a meeting I didn't have to go to. Not only did they not have cookies, I got assigned an action. Really, my action is to make someone else answer a question, but I never would have gotten even that if I'd just stayed in my office like a good little intern.

I hate Barnes & Noble. I've been waiting on a book for about a year. It's set to be released Tuesday. I went to Barnes & Noble after work and inquired about the book. They had it in stock (though not out on the shelves), but they wouldn't sell it to me. It's not some hardline policiy, either. Other books, it seems, they might sell early, but not this one that I want. I don't think any of the people making that decision were old enough to drink (yes, I'm ageist again young people).

I hate packing. More tomorrow.

Boom-de-atta, Boom-de-atta

I've had that song in my head since this afternoon. (That's the song from the Discovery Channel comemrcials in case it's not clear.)

Not much at work to report today. After work, Lee and I combined cooking talents to prepare our own basil pesto pasta with chicken and mushrooms. He found some basil pesto at the store and gets tons of chicken. I cook. It turned out really, really well. It's different from the Nothin' but Noodles version, but still excellent. For a first attempt, it was more than a success.

I don't want to work the rest of the week. I want to sleep, then read my new book that comes out next week. More tomorrow.

"We should be led by Osama bin Laden ... I mean Obama and Biden"

Quote from Charlie Wilson.

More tomorrow.

Takes a Lot of Vodka to Get Through the Day

This from the guy who I overheard explain:

"2 bottles [of Wild Turkey, scotch, etc.] used to last 3 months. Now, I'm going through 3 bottles in 7 weeks"

Another quote from today:
Same guy: Aren't you on the wrong floor?
Female Invader: What are you going to do about it? Are you going to spank me?
Same guy: I'm not into that.
Female Invader: I didn't mean it like that.

At various points in that conversation, about half the surrounding cubes had gophers. That is, people popped their heads up over the cube walls to see what was going on.

It's early, but I'm calling it a night. I almost didn't blog, but if I'm going to do this, I need to get back in practice. More tomorrow.

There's a Man Going 'Round, Taking Names

It's been a while. Lee says it's like riding a bike. I'm not very good at that, either - it's too much like exercise.

A lot has happened since January:

• I turned 25 (halfway to 30)
• I bought a house
• I got a raise.
• I changed jobs. I still work for MDA, but as part of my program, I rotate to different project offices. I started in Systems Engineering; I'm now working in the Radar office.
• I took a trip to Colorado Springs on the government's dime.

All of those would have made good entries, or several good entries. Then, there's been politics. I bet you can guess where I stand on a lot of that. I'll get into that more going forward.

Go Team Venture! More tomorrow.

I'm Back, Baby!

After several months of ignoring this blog, I'm going to make a concerted effort to bring it back. "Daily" might be stretching things, but my initial goal is 3 or 4 times a week.

Check back here for politics, generalized work commentary, and random musings.