Some thoughts

I really wish Kentucky would extend its voting hours. 6 am-6 pm (at least in many areas--we have a variable schedule--some areas have until 7 pm) doesn't work for many workers or parents trying to get their kids to and from school. I took the day off just in case of problems. Not everyone has that luxury.

I apparently belong to one of only two precincts in Lexington with less than 100 voters registered. I know this because a news story mentioned that there were two with only one voting machine because of this. I guess that means if I don't want to encounter lines, I have to stay put. :)

I really think McCain lost this election not because the oeconomy tanked in September (let's face it, it's been doing so for months now--it just became more palpable due to Wall Street tanking), but because 1) his campaign never really found a direction to go forward with (chasing issues from here and there, not really presenting what John McCain himself stood for well, not like Obama's platform for change and slogans that included people like 'Yes, we can') but even more importantly, 2) the choice of Sarah Palin as running mate. No matter how much he might have been liked by many voters, it proved to be a very telling about his judgement, and I think many voters could not stomach her being a heartbeat away from the presidency--not because she is a woman, I think that has nothing to do with it--but because she is Sarah Palin. She has some very scary ideals that believe it or not do not resonate with the majority of Americans, and is obviously unprepared to be vice-president, much less president.

I think the gender card got played way too much during this race. I did not favour Hillary Clinton based on her personality. It had nothing to do with her gender. And I found the selection of Sarah Palin as a vice-presidential candidate insulting, knowing that there were many other Republican women who would have served very well. It seems like some people had an idea that as long as someone had the female plumbing than we are all interchangeable, which is not the case. I would love to have a female candidate I could really have gotten behind like I did with Obama. But whilst I won't say I would have voted McCain over Clinton in this election, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to vote for her, and would only have done so out of necessity. I could not have voted for McCain, however, once he selected Palin, because among other things I question his judgement strongly over that one. I'd rather have a candidate I can believe in. I found that with Obama.

Also, I'm happy that in the end, race was not as important as say, oeconomy. Obviously there was a huge turnout among blacks and apparently a very good one among Latinos. And looking at the breakdown in Applalachian counties (at least in my state), the numbers for McCain over Obama were very strong--but it's unclear whether that had to do with race or if they're just such Republican counties). But one of the pundits also pointed out that a different demographic which Obama did well with were college-educated whites, a group Democratic candidates have not done well with in the past. Since I'm part of that demographic, I'm glad we were able to make a difference.

I find it telling

that when McCain was talking about Obama, his supporters booed, but when Obama talked about McCain, his supporters cheered.

Anyone else notice that?

Of course, McCain clearly didn't approve of the booing, because he's a classy guy. In other days I might have voted for him--certainly against George W. Bush.

Kudos to John McCain for a wonderful concession speech

I am so pleased that Barack Obama will be our next president. McCain's concession speech was very classy, too. Although my state, Kentucky, was the first race to be called, and for McCain, my county went for Obama by 52%.

Of course, McConnell kept his his seat, and I would have like to have seen his defeat.

For a transcript of McCain's speech, try the Turner Report.

I was temporarily offline for a day

thanks to a security patch from Microsoft for Windows XP that wasn't compatible with my firewall. Said patch has been removed, and I'm back.

Things I want to share with you quickly as I must get up in three hours...

1) I found a really nice, free food diary/weight tracker/exercise tracker at FitDay. You can view my report at: http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=eilir.

2) A video that YKWIA found...

Bush & Cheney - Plenty Of Time!


It's hilarious. Actually, they're very talented at the Monkey Box. You should check them out.

Okay, gotta get up soon. I've ironed out Internet issues and soaked my foot. Time to go.

Tomorrow is our primary

I'm voting for Obama, of course; I'm almost always in the minority when it comes to Kentucky's voters. I have a guide published in the paper Sunday for some of the other races that I need to look over. Interesting enough, John McCain never even answered any of the questions. I guess he figures he has the Republican nomination, why bother dealing with a local newspaper of a decent-sized but by no means major metropolitan area? The main non-presidential race is that of the Democratic nominee who will go against the juggernaut Mitch McConnell, who has a lot of influence in Washington and is currently the highest ranking Republican in Congress, as he is the minority leader of the Senate. He's been in office since first running for Senate in 1984.

Woo-hoo

1. I finally got enough reward points on my debit card/bank account to get a $100 gift certificate to Amazon.com. My plan is to get the digital voice recorder I wanted to get for the winter holidays. It's a voice recorder, flash drive, and music player all-in-one, and it's $75 on their site. With the remainder I'll probably get some rechargeable batteries and Big Country's The Seer, my favourite of their albums and something that has been rattling around on my wish list for some time.
   
2. I avoided being beaten with a phone Monday when I accidentally pulled out the first pair of sandals I could find for work (I refuse to wear flip flops like some of the girls do), got there, and suddenly realised I was wearing white shoes before Memorial Day. Granted, growing up in the South I was taught it was okay after Easter, but I also know that's really not true. Anyway, hopefully the gods of etiquette will forgive my faux pas.
   
3. I got my Lamictal today after not having it since a half-dose Saturday. I hadn't realised how flat my affect was without it. That may also be why I just wanted to sleep all the time and couldn't bring myself to do much. Just goes to show you how quickly your brain chemistry can break down. At least I didn't have a meltdown or anything. Being bipolar is a challenge, but at least it's manageable.
   
4. I have some groceries thanks to my boss at the gas station. She's giving me extra hours this week (one of the regular full-timers is on vacation), so that will help. Considering gas is now $3.75 and I'm paying about $200 a month just to keep my car running, it's been difficult. I've been eating peanut butter sandwiches (no spreadable fruit, even) for a week or more now. I got some potatoes, macaroni and cheese, tortillas, cheese, beans, chili, bread, peas, and spinach. Unfortunately I couldn't work in fish or fruit, but at least I have more variety. I've lost another two pounds in the last week and a half, bringing my total net loss since the fall to 17 lbs, none of which has been from actual dieting. Imagine what I could do if I actually watched what I ate and exercised. :)
   

Well, that's it for now. Good night.

PS Dear Hillary Clinton. Please drop out from the race so Barack Obama can start running against the real threat--John McCain. You've poured $11 million of your own money into a lagging campaign without momentum. Seriously, give it up, before you become pathetic. Try again next time; thank you for playing.

An interesting test

Harvard's Project Implicit has an online Presidential Candidate test that measures how positive or how negative you view the presidential candidates. Mine rated high on the 'more positive' side for Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton was way down on the 'more negative' side, with John McCain even lower (which surprised me a little bit; I actually thought I liked McCain better than Clinton). It was pretty interesting. It has you choose one key for positive words or the candidate that you're supposed to choose for that segment. Another key is used for negative words or one of the other candidates. I had a little trouble with hitting the wrong keys, but who knows, that may have been subconscious, which seems to be what they were studying.

One thing I agree with John McCain about

...there shoudn't be special earmarks inserted into bills. Bills should be about a specified subject and any extraneous stuff should be excluded.

New Pig Book says Hillary Clinton's tops in pork spending, Barack Obama's 2nd, but John McCain had none!

Of course, I also believe lobbyists should be banned. :)

Two gems from YKWIA

Chute Find Rekindles D.B. Cooper Legend

For some reason I thought the money came from a bank robbery, but it was ransom for the passengers he'd taken hostage in the hijacking. This parachute that they're looking at may have been one given to the man who identified himself as Dan Cooper (not DB as it has come down in the legend).

Obama Related to Pitt, Clinton to Jolie

My theory is that if you go back far enough, you're related to someone famous. I'm related to Ty Cobb, for instance. But it's funny when you've got Obama related to both Bush AND Cheney. :)