Oh yeah! 'Skins rule!
With that said, I hate Solaris 10 patch bundles. The latest issue had a bug where the inetd.xml file didn't get propagated to the non-global zones. Ugh, ugh, ugh. With 6, 7, and 8, you could just get the install script running, go get some coffee/lunch/church time, and come back to reboot. Now you have to babysit the !@#$ things.
Life is good. Melanie needed a nap, so I drove Becca and Melanie out to get some lunch (well lunch for Becca and me and the soothing motion of the car for Melanie.) Panera was good, and Mellie got the soothing motion she needed. Patching is almost done, and I've managed to record 9 hours of overtime for today. Yay me.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Friday, October 03, 2008
Interesting that the stock market went down after Son of Bailout got passed. The last unemployment report before the election shows 150,000 jobs disappeared. More jobs were created under Carter than under Bush II.
I'll admit I'm only mildly for this rescue. I'd rather see a stopgap measure passed, and have Republicans and Democrats run on their own ideas -- and then a bill passed in February/March by a new Congress, signed by a new President, both of which have a mandate.
I'll admit I'm only mildly for this rescue. I'd rather see a stopgap measure passed, and have Republicans and Democrats run on their own ideas -- and then a bill passed in February/March by a new Congress, signed by a new President, both of which have a mandate.
Lost in the news about the VP debate and the rescue package, it seems California needs $7 billion PDQ.
This usually isn't a good sign. I mean, the last time the head of a major city or a state needed money that quickly, it resulted in two cyborgs fighting.
This usually isn't a good sign. I mean, the last time the head of a major city or a state needed money that quickly, it resulted in two cyborgs fighting.
Sarah Palin strung together sentences and formed coherent thoughts. She may not have always directly answered the question, but she at least proved she was not a complete idiot.
This still doesn't mean McCain is not behind as we head into the home stretch, with Troopergate's report coming out in a week, the next Obama/McCain debate happening next week, and the Ted Stevens trial continuing. The economic news continues to be negative and Barack Obama is looking more and more Presidential with each passing day.
My idea to listen to all the British #1 hits since 1952 is headed into 1986. Now playing is Chris De Burgh's 'Lady in Red.'
Melanie's ear infection continues. She's on day #3 of her antibiotics.
This still doesn't mean McCain is not behind as we head into the home stretch, with Troopergate's report coming out in a week, the next Obama/McCain debate happening next week, and the Ted Stevens trial continuing. The economic news continues to be negative and Barack Obama is looking more and more Presidential with each passing day.
My idea to listen to all the British #1 hits since 1952 is headed into 1986. Now playing is Chris De Burgh's 'Lady in Red.'
Melanie's ear infection continues. She's on day #3 of her antibiotics.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
My daughter's sick again a day after I've taken a day off to get over my own cold. I'm not sure who gave who a cold here.
I'm told that after kid #1, the colds don't come quite as fast or furious. I hope this is the case.
The big Quinnipiac poll shows Obama up by 15 (!) in PA, and by high single digits in FL and OH. Unless we hear more, I'm going to treat those as outliers. I think Obama is probably up by 8-10 in PA, 5-6 in OH, and 3-4 in FL. Voter suppression (aka fighting voter fraud) won't be as big a deal with Dem governors in PA and OH.
However, this means McCain is going to have to choose between PA and MI. I'd choose MI, to be honest -- only one major media market as opposed to three (NYC for NE PA, Philly, and Pittsburgh) -- plus there's a large number of voters in the Detroit suburbs that need to regard Kilpatrick as Obama's best bud. The EV tally is about equal between both.
Of course, given that McCain's been totally blindsided by Obama in NC and IN, and that the campaign's response has been to whine about the poll demos (with no specifics), I suspect the McCain camp's probably in a holding pattern until Palin gets through the VP debate without drooling on herself. We'll see McCain's offense against the Kerry states limited to either PA/MI, MN, and NH. After that, McCain is pretty boxed in.
He's losing big in IA, losing in NM, and starting to lose in VA and CO. He has nothing in NC and IN, and things aren't looking so hot in OH and FL. Even WV and MO are starting to look a little too pink for McCain's taste.
The Ted Stevens trial is continuing.
A nice guilty verdict around Oct. 15 would be a gift from Heaven for Harry Reid.
I'm told that after kid #1, the colds don't come quite as fast or furious. I hope this is the case.
The big Quinnipiac poll shows Obama up by 15 (!) in PA, and by high single digits in FL and OH. Unless we hear more, I'm going to treat those as outliers. I think Obama is probably up by 8-10 in PA, 5-6 in OH, and 3-4 in FL. Voter suppression (aka fighting voter fraud) won't be as big a deal with Dem governors in PA and OH.
However, this means McCain is going to have to choose between PA and MI. I'd choose MI, to be honest -- only one major media market as opposed to three (NYC for NE PA, Philly, and Pittsburgh) -- plus there's a large number of voters in the Detroit suburbs that need to regard Kilpatrick as Obama's best bud. The EV tally is about equal between both.
Of course, given that McCain's been totally blindsided by Obama in NC and IN, and that the campaign's response has been to whine about the poll demos (with no specifics), I suspect the McCain camp's probably in a holding pattern until Palin gets through the VP debate without drooling on herself. We'll see McCain's offense against the Kerry states limited to either PA/MI, MN, and NH. After that, McCain is pretty boxed in.
He's losing big in IA, losing in NM, and starting to lose in VA and CO. He has nothing in NC and IN, and things aren't looking so hot in OH and FL. Even WV and MO are starting to look a little too pink for McCain's taste.
The Ted Stevens trial is continuing.
A nice guilty verdict around Oct. 15 would be a gift from Heaven for Harry Reid.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
McCain, apparently, just canceled his town hall meeting that was to be on ABC's This Week.
Apparently, no one told the 300+ undecided voters. In Ohio. Well, an e-mail went out. Supposedly.
WTF?
Apparently, no one told the 300+ undecided voters. In Ohio. Well, an e-mail went out. Supposedly.
WTF?
Friday, September 26, 2008
Boehner's bailout plan was designed to keep economic conservatives on the ranch. I'm not sure how serious they are about passing it, or whether they will even want to compromise -- in the House, if Pelosi wants something done, the most Boehner can do is delay for a few days.
McCain's clearly not suspended his campaign. Can he recover from not even showing up to the first debate?
The social conservatives will be kept on the ranch by the Tax Avoidance Sunday sermons in a week or two where many White evangelical ministers will openly endorse McCain from the pulpit. This is out of no great love for McCain, mind you, it's out of being terrified from being shut out of the halls of power for the first time since 1993.
McCain's clearly not suspended his campaign. Can he recover from not even showing up to the first debate?
The social conservatives will be kept on the ranch by the Tax Avoidance Sunday sermons in a week or two where many White evangelical ministers will openly endorse McCain from the pulpit. This is out of no great love for McCain, mind you, it's out of being terrified from being shut out of the halls of power for the first time since 1993.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
I've got to admit, I enjoy Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" more than Jill Sobule's song of the same name.
But I've also got to admit Katy Perry's set the gay rights movement back a good three to six months there.
But I've also got to admit Katy Perry's set the gay rights movement back a good three to six months there.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Just thought of this --
Nancy Pelosi has nothing to lose by throwing Charles Rangel under the bus.
In an ordinary election year, I suppose she would be afraid of losing support from the Black community. This might be mitigated/stopped by naming another qualified Black to chair the committee. However, with Barack Obama on top of the ticket, the likelihood of flagging Black interest is nearly nil.
Having done away with the corruption in her ranks, she can then point to the Republicans, whose senior Senator (Ted Stevens) is currently awaiting trial.
Actually, Stevens/Rangel is more of a litmus test -- most Republicans are likely to moan about Rangel while ignoring Stevens, while most Democrats will do the opposite. I still think the Democrats deserve a couple of years at the wheel, but too many Rangels will eventually cause me to peel away.
Keith Fimian, the GOP Congressional candidate in my district, seems to be a standard-issue conservative. He's probably too conservative for VA-11, which contains areas of Mid-Fairfax that have trended Democratic over the past 10 years and areas of Prince William that are pretty Republican. But, he's done nothing to make him irrevocably lose my vote the way George Allen did with 'macaca' and 'noose in my office.' I'd vote for Fimian if I thought the Democrats needed to be taken down a peg.
Frankly, since Stevens is actually on trial, Stevens is going to embarrass his party more, unless Rangel does a perp walk or something entirely new (and embarrassing) is discovered. The branch of the DOJ that is trying Stevens has a 90% conviction rate, and the trial is in Washington, as opposed to Alaska (where Stevens might get acquitted or have a hung jury because he's Ted Stevens.) I suspect the best Stevens can hope for in the absence of prosecution malfeasance is to get a lone holdout to hang the jury until after the election.
On the other hand, the media will be talking for the next two weeks about Ted Stevens and the various things he's done. That is, if it's not talking about the economy or about Troopergate. I suspect Stevensgate is going to be story #2-#5 for most of the next few weeks, and a conviction will be story #1 for a couple of days.
Troopergate, I think, is becoming a classic study in 'it's the coverup, stupid.' The more they stonewall, the more non-Republicans are going to think, 'Gee, what's going on here?' Given what we know, the story is moderately damaging to McCain/Palin at worst, and the stonewalling merely delays a one-shot moderate amount of pain while administering minor amounts of pain nearly constantly. Unless, of course, there's something we don't know about.
She could've apologized for misuse of her power while she was just a finalist in Vice-Presidential Idol, while stressing the sins (real and imagined) of her brother-in-law, who is a piece of work. If she had done this in July, no non-Democrat would be caring at this point. But now that she's the nominee, every move she makes automatically becomes one of the top 4-5 stories of the day.
She also lost the chance to put neutral or positive stories about her in the top 4-5 stories because she is shielded from the media -- sure she'd have made some gaffes, but better early on than on October 2 while Joe Biden's on stage with her.
I think Biden will win a unanimous decision in the debate, but Palin's performance will not be so embarrassing as to cause McCain to hemorrhage support. At least I think this is how it'll be. Biden's not gaffe-proof himself but Palin's answers to questions about Troopergate will be very revealing.
I still think Rapekitgate is far more potentially damaging, due to its built-in soundbite friendliness and its more visceral nature. I suspect the discovery of a Wasilla PD rape kit receipt will sink McCain/Palin for good. If what the Huffington Post is reporting is true (that the Wasilla PD under Palin started a policy of charging for rape kits, as opposed to merely continuing a Stone Age-vintage policy) and it can be proven, we're looking at historic levels of fail for McCain.
Nancy Pelosi has nothing to lose by throwing Charles Rangel under the bus.
In an ordinary election year, I suppose she would be afraid of losing support from the Black community. This might be mitigated/stopped by naming another qualified Black to chair the committee. However, with Barack Obama on top of the ticket, the likelihood of flagging Black interest is nearly nil.
Having done away with the corruption in her ranks, she can then point to the Republicans, whose senior Senator (Ted Stevens) is currently awaiting trial.
Actually, Stevens/Rangel is more of a litmus test -- most Republicans are likely to moan about Rangel while ignoring Stevens, while most Democrats will do the opposite. I still think the Democrats deserve a couple of years at the wheel, but too many Rangels will eventually cause me to peel away.
Keith Fimian, the GOP Congressional candidate in my district, seems to be a standard-issue conservative. He's probably too conservative for VA-11, which contains areas of Mid-Fairfax that have trended Democratic over the past 10 years and areas of Prince William that are pretty Republican. But, he's done nothing to make him irrevocably lose my vote the way George Allen did with 'macaca' and 'noose in my office.' I'd vote for Fimian if I thought the Democrats needed to be taken down a peg.
Frankly, since Stevens is actually on trial, Stevens is going to embarrass his party more, unless Rangel does a perp walk or something entirely new (and embarrassing) is discovered. The branch of the DOJ that is trying Stevens has a 90% conviction rate, and the trial is in Washington, as opposed to Alaska (where Stevens might get acquitted or have a hung jury because he's Ted Stevens.) I suspect the best Stevens can hope for in the absence of prosecution malfeasance is to get a lone holdout to hang the jury until after the election.
On the other hand, the media will be talking for the next two weeks about Ted Stevens and the various things he's done. That is, if it's not talking about the economy or about Troopergate. I suspect Stevensgate is going to be story #2-#5 for most of the next few weeks, and a conviction will be story #1 for a couple of days.
Troopergate, I think, is becoming a classic study in 'it's the coverup, stupid.' The more they stonewall, the more non-Republicans are going to think, 'Gee, what's going on here?' Given what we know, the story is moderately damaging to McCain/Palin at worst, and the stonewalling merely delays a one-shot moderate amount of pain while administering minor amounts of pain nearly constantly. Unless, of course, there's something we don't know about.
She could've apologized for misuse of her power while she was just a finalist in Vice-Presidential Idol, while stressing the sins (real and imagined) of her brother-in-law, who is a piece of work. If she had done this in July, no non-Democrat would be caring at this point. But now that she's the nominee, every move she makes automatically becomes one of the top 4-5 stories of the day.
She also lost the chance to put neutral or positive stories about her in the top 4-5 stories because she is shielded from the media -- sure she'd have made some gaffes, but better early on than on October 2 while Joe Biden's on stage with her.
I think Biden will win a unanimous decision in the debate, but Palin's performance will not be so embarrassing as to cause McCain to hemorrhage support. At least I think this is how it'll be. Biden's not gaffe-proof himself but Palin's answers to questions about Troopergate will be very revealing.
I still think Rapekitgate is far more potentially damaging, due to its built-in soundbite friendliness and its more visceral nature. I suspect the discovery of a Wasilla PD rape kit receipt will sink McCain/Palin for good. If what the Huffington Post is reporting is true (that the Wasilla PD under Palin started a policy of charging for rape kits, as opposed to merely continuing a Stone Age-vintage policy) and it can be proven, we're looking at historic levels of fail for McCain.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Ugh. Amazing how quickly I can forget to update this thing.
Life's going pretty good. I'm getting over my cold as are Rebecca and Melanie. Our tenants are moving in this week.
I had a Scholastic Bowl rules clinic yesterday and another one tomorrow. Questions are coming along nicely and I'll have half the regular season matches ready by tonight or tomorrow. The other half is a vendor I work with and that'll be ready later this week.
I got my SmartTag for riding the Dulles Toll Road, although it seems to take me an hour and 10 minutes either way to get from my wife's work to my worjk.
Only bad thing is our generator -- on Monday, we had a 30-second power blip -- the generator didn't come on. Apparently, the gas hose had a kink in it, and it was only repaired today. Hopefully it'll fire up next time there's a real power outage. The inspector's coming out for the final approval on Monday.
As for the election, I think McCain made a huge mistake in not letting Palin talk to the press or do anything other than give the standard stump speech. Davis' comment about 'respect and deference' didn't help either. That just got the Democratic base fired up. So she would've had a few gaffes. Compared to what's happening now, I'm going to say that would've been the lesser of two evils. (BTW, Obama naming H. Clinton the VP would've done the same thing to the GOP base that naming Palin's done.)
The media then decided to make the story about Palin as opposed to letting Palin make her own story. So we went from 'ZOMG hot hockey momma' to 'Bristol's knocked up LOL' to 'she lied about the Bridge to Nowhere' to 'Hey what about this Troopergate thing.' What'll be next?
Odds are, nothing terribly kind to Palin. Running against the media is one sure way to get the media unsympathetic to your cause. I suspect with McCain, reporters feel it personally, as Straight Talking McCain of 2000 was a chatty sort. Now it's been a month since McCain's had an off the cuff talk with reporters, and Palin may as well be in New Zealand as far as the media is concerned. The negative ads McCain ran were pretty bad, and that probably contributed to the narrative of betrayal many reporters must be feeling.
One thing that has me worried somewhat is MN and WI becoming tighter. Part of me is wondering if there's some movement among Scandinavian-Americans (of which there are many in MN and WI) moving to Palin -- that since Palin is a Swedish name (http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Palin-places-origin.ashx), there might be a few points of movement. I can't think of anything else to explain why McCain bounced so well in MN and WI.
Another thing to consider -- in the debates, Obama held his own against Clinton, but let's not forget that Clinton and Obama were essentially wanting the same things. In the general election debates, McCain will start down a couple rounds since he has to defend how things are well enough to convince voters that staying Republican is the way to go, but not so well that he is portrayed out of touch. Essentially, Obama's got reality on his side. Don't get me wrong, McCain may well win one or more of the debates. But projecting Obama's performance against Clinton to the upcoming general election debates is at best a shaky exercise.
Life's going pretty good. I'm getting over my cold as are Rebecca and Melanie. Our tenants are moving in this week.
I had a Scholastic Bowl rules clinic yesterday and another one tomorrow. Questions are coming along nicely and I'll have half the regular season matches ready by tonight or tomorrow. The other half is a vendor I work with and that'll be ready later this week.
I got my SmartTag for riding the Dulles Toll Road, although it seems to take me an hour and 10 minutes either way to get from my wife's work to my worjk.
Only bad thing is our generator -- on Monday, we had a 30-second power blip -- the generator didn't come on. Apparently, the gas hose had a kink in it, and it was only repaired today. Hopefully it'll fire up next time there's a real power outage. The inspector's coming out for the final approval on Monday.
As for the election, I think McCain made a huge mistake in not letting Palin talk to the press or do anything other than give the standard stump speech. Davis' comment about 'respect and deference' didn't help either. That just got the Democratic base fired up. So she would've had a few gaffes. Compared to what's happening now, I'm going to say that would've been the lesser of two evils. (BTW, Obama naming H. Clinton the VP would've done the same thing to the GOP base that naming Palin's done.)
The media then decided to make the story about Palin as opposed to letting Palin make her own story. So we went from 'ZOMG hot hockey momma' to 'Bristol's knocked up LOL' to 'she lied about the Bridge to Nowhere' to 'Hey what about this Troopergate thing.' What'll be next?
Odds are, nothing terribly kind to Palin. Running against the media is one sure way to get the media unsympathetic to your cause. I suspect with McCain, reporters feel it personally, as Straight Talking McCain of 2000 was a chatty sort. Now it's been a month since McCain's had an off the cuff talk with reporters, and Palin may as well be in New Zealand as far as the media is concerned. The negative ads McCain ran were pretty bad, and that probably contributed to the narrative of betrayal many reporters must be feeling.
One thing that has me worried somewhat is MN and WI becoming tighter. Part of me is wondering if there's some movement among Scandinavian-Americans (of which there are many in MN and WI) moving to Palin -- that since Palin is a Swedish name (http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Palin-places-origin.ashx), there might be a few points of movement. I can't think of anything else to explain why McCain bounced so well in MN and WI.
Another thing to consider -- in the debates, Obama held his own against Clinton, but let's not forget that Clinton and Obama were essentially wanting the same things. In the general election debates, McCain will start down a couple rounds since he has to defend how things are well enough to convince voters that staying Republican is the way to go, but not so well that he is portrayed out of touch. Essentially, Obama's got reality on his side. Don't get me wrong, McCain may well win one or more of the debates. But projecting Obama's performance against Clinton to the upcoming general election debates is at best a shaky exercise.
Friday, September 12, 2008
This one gently mocking Palin's 'no media' policy.
(People dressed as reporters approach a Sarah Palin look alike, asking questions. A glass dome comes from the sky and falls upon them.)
(pan to Joe Biden answering questions.)
'Sarah Palin says she's ready to run the free world.'
(cut to McCain manager demanding deference and respect for Palin.)
'But John McCain's campaign manager says she's not ready for Jon Stewart and Meet the Press.'
(picture of Osama bin Laden and Vladimir Putin)
'Is Sarah Palin ready for these guys?'
(picture of Obama meeting with foreign leaders)
'Barack Obama is.'
(picture of Joe Biden meeting with foreign leaders)
'and so is Joe Biden.'
'I'm Barack Obama and I approved this message.'
(People dressed as reporters approach a Sarah Palin look alike, asking questions. A glass dome comes from the sky and falls upon them.)
(pan to Joe Biden answering questions.)
'Sarah Palin says she's ready to run the free world.'
(cut to McCain manager demanding deference and respect for Palin.)
'But John McCain's campaign manager says she's not ready for Jon Stewart and Meet the Press.'
(picture of Osama bin Laden and Vladimir Putin)
'Is Sarah Palin ready for these guys?'
(picture of Obama meeting with foreign leaders)
'Barack Obama is.'
(picture of Joe Biden meeting with foreign leaders)
'and so is Joe Biden.'
'I'm Barack Obama and I approved this message.'
Now one tying McCain to Bush and Rove:
Find out what the positive/negative opinion on Rove is among independents. If it is negative, tie McCain and Rove in the next batch of commercials.
'Karl Rove. Bush's top adviser between 2000 and 2006, when he resigned during the Valerie Plame scandal.'
(pictures of Karl Rove and Dubya)
'Now, he's working for John McCain.'
(cite of this article and others)
'John McCain says he's about change.'
(bits of the convention speech)
'It seems the only change is who Karl Rove is working for.'
(ominous music and fade to black)
'I'm Barack Obama, and I approve this message.'
Find out what the positive/negative opinion on Rove is among independents. If it is negative, tie McCain and Rove in the next batch of commercials.
'Karl Rove. Bush's top adviser between 2000 and 2006, when he resigned during the Valerie Plame scandal.'
(pictures of Karl Rove and Dubya)
'Now, he's working for John McCain.'
(cite of this article and others)
'John McCain says he's about change.'
(bits of the convention speech)
'It seems the only change is who Karl Rove is working for.'
(ominous music and fade to black)
'I'm Barack Obama, and I approve this message.'
I just realized I never did post my suggested commercials.
Here's one on foreign policy.
(map of Afghanistan and Iraq)
Announcer: Our soldiers can improve the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq.
(video of Obama meeting with foreign leaders)
Announcer: Most wars are won before they are fought. Barack Obama will utilize our resources, diplomatic and cultural, to ensure our overloaded soldiers aren't given yet another war to fight.
(fade to black)
A war John McCain and Sarah Palin seem to think lightly of.
(John McCain's bomb-bomb-bomb Iran video)
(Sarah Palin's war with Russia quote)
(fade to black)
Barack Obama. Using ALL of America's resources to promote America.
Obama: I'm Barack Obama, and I approve of this message.
Here's one on foreign policy.
(map of Afghanistan and Iraq)
Announcer: Our soldiers can improve the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq.
(video of Obama meeting with foreign leaders)
Announcer: Most wars are won before they are fought. Barack Obama will utilize our resources, diplomatic and cultural, to ensure our overloaded soldiers aren't given yet another war to fight.
(fade to black)
A war John McCain and Sarah Palin seem to think lightly of.
(John McCain's bomb-bomb-bomb Iran video)
(Sarah Palin's war with Russia quote)
(fade to black)
Barack Obama. Using ALL of America's resources to promote America.
Obama: I'm Barack Obama, and I approve of this message.
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