Schedule - REVISED

Though I'm at home for the weekend, I got the schedule from Brian via e-mail, which allows me to pick out my schedule. This is only prelim, since I haven't run it by him first.

Monday - 16:00 to 24:00 (8 hours)
Tuesday - 14:00 to 18:00 (12 hours)
Wednesday - 11:30 to 20:00 (20.5 hours)
Thursday - OFF
Friday - 7:30 to 16:00 (29 hours)
Saturday - 7:30 to 16:00 (37.5 hours)
Sunday - 7:30 to 16:00 (46 hours)

Lots of overtime - plenty to pay electricity and cable for the month, woo!

The State of the Election

Things are looking bleak for the Republican party these days. The events of the past two weeks have only served a steep downhill slide for the right - a slide the election will punctuate with the sharpest of exclamation points.

Ted Stevens' chances of being re-elected look extremely bleak. The state of Alaska, having become a national focus since the Republican National Convention, is becoming a sort of pariah with charges of ethics violation and corruption pouring from the Land of the Midnight Sun. The largest of which looms the indictment and subsequent conviction of Stevens, the patriarch of the Republican side of the Senate. Begich seems to be a shoe-in after the events of yesterday. Even if Stevens were elected, he would almost certainly resign the position, causing Governor Sarah Palin to possibly offer up a special replacement before an emergency election. If Palin loses her shot at the Vice Presidency, would she take a stab at Alaskan Junior Senator?

Speaking of Palin, with the slow bleeding of the McCain ticket as of late, sources from inside the campaign have been trickling allegations of her "going rogue". Talking points go unheeded and untouched, and Palin appears to be reading off her own script more and more. Is this just indignation over the campaign staffers holding her leash too tight, or does she have the hubris to see herself as the new light of the Republican party? I suppose if Stevens does miraculously secure re-election, we'll see for ourselves whether or not she seizes the opportunity for a power grab.

And how about that election? With the McCain campaign seemingly becoming more and more desperate for a talking point to latch onto, they've shifted to the image of "Obama the Redistributer", with no lack of "Obama the Socialist" innuendo. The desperation has become more frenzied and with it the red-blue balance of power blurs from royal purple to a more indigo shade. States regarded as reliable for the right - Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana - have made huge leaps left. The RNC even tossed several hundred thousand dollars at Montana, a state no one would have dreamed they would need to spend money in a few months ago.

One week from tonight we will see how the polls stack up against the ballot boxes. Keep your breath bated for just a while longer.

Remember When Matt Drudge Was Relevant?

Neither do I. Obama the Redistributor is apparently more important than a sitting Senator of 40 years being convicted of ethics violations, as well as an apparent plot to kill a presidential candidate and 101 other people. Go back to 1995, Drudge.

19:18 EDIT - Hahahaha, from Freep: "What will happen to the seat? Begeich is now a senator? *pucnhes wall*"

Ted Stevens

Senator Ted Stevens, a man who became an internet meme through gaffes speaking to his inexperience with technology, was found guilty on seven counts of violating Senate ethics regulations. These charges stemmed from his receiving several hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from friends and failing to disclose these gifts. One such "gift" was a $250,000 remodel of his home on the dime of oil construction executive, Bill Allen.

Fortunately, this almost certainly means he will fail to be re-elected for his 41st year in Congress. His high-scale trial already began to sink his chances for re-election, considering that even with his incumbent advantage, he was a few points behind in the polls. This new revelation of a guilty verdict makes Mark Begich's chances of obtaining his seat that much more feasible.

Stevens will likely serve no jail time for this violation of ethics laws. Since this is a turning point in electoral terms, and a lame duck president is on his way out, Stevens will likely receive a pardon, wiping clean the felony charges and any hard time or fines that come with it.

I found his THINGS JUST SHOWED UP IN HOUSE! defense to be hilarious:

He said he considered that chair a loan.

"And the chair is still at your house?" prosecutor Brenda Morris asked.

"Yes," Stevens said.

"How is that not a gift?"

"He bought that chair as a gift, but I refused it as a gift," Stevens said. "He put it there and said it was my chair. I told him I would not accept it as a gift. We have lots of things in our house that don't belong to us. "

Playing to the jury, Morris appeared confused.

"So, if you say it's not a gift, it's not a gift?" she said.

"I refused it as a gift," Stevens replied. "I let him put it in our basement at his request."

Schedule for the Week

Gonna be a short one, since I only work two days this week. Gonna try and pack in the hours, though, so I can avoid using my Comp Time as much as possible.

Monday - 15:30 to 24:00 (8.5 hours)
Tuesday - 11:30 to 24:00 (21 hours)
Wednesday - OFF (29 hours)
Thursday - OFF (37 hours)
Friday - OFF (40 hours)

I can't wait to be back in Minnesota again for a few days.

Pushing Daisies

So with the new television season comes a lot of returning series, including my old favorites like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 30 Rock, and Heroes. The only 2007 arrival that I've been keeping up with lately is an amazingly quirky show that comes from the depths of ABC. Don't read on if you mind the first episode being spoiled.

Filled with amusingly colorful imagery and a definite fairy tale atmosphere comes Pushing Daisies, a show about Ned, a lonely pie maker with the strange power to bring dead things back to life by touching them. He discovered that this power had a catch or two when his mother suffered a sudden death from aneurysm, and he touched her to bring her back to life, unwittingly causing the death of the neighbor girl's father. Oh, and his mother was again relegated to the land of the dead when Ned touched her again. Upon the second touch, the being was dead again, this time for good.

Fast forward to present day, and we find Ned running a lucrative pie business (fruit no longer has a shelf life for him) and helping run a detective agency on the side. It's much easier to solve murder cases when you can wake the dead and ask them who killed them. Eventually, the murder of a young woman who was pushed off a cruise ship. It was Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, Ned's closest childhood friend and first kiss. The first episode details Ned and his associate, Emerson, solving her murder by bringing her back to life. The catch, though, is that Ned can't bring himself to doom her back to death and nothingness, and thus leaves her alive.

The newly formed trio use Ned's gift, Emerson's gumshoe talents, and Chuck's creativity to continue the murder-solving business, all while navigating a relationship lacking the sense of touch between the two childhood friends.

The best part of the show is by far the beautifully clever writing. It's littered with puns and alliterations, interesting metaphors, and situations that make one smile. The result is a modern fairy tale with an amazingly quirky sense of humor. The imagery is surreal at times, which only enhances the uniqueness of the show. It's funny, thought provoking, and amazingly interesting.

Also, they creators are clearly fans of They Might Be Giants:

Watchmen Trailer 2

While poking around I discovered a new trailer with some new footage. Awesome.

Uhhhh

Friend of mine linked me this earlier.

The Ohio plumber, whose nickname became a quick catchphrase on the presidential campaign trail, told FOX News' Neil Cavuto on Saturday that he's considering a run for Congress in response to recent chatter on Web sites and talk shows.

Go away, Joe the Plumber.

No Excitement... Until!

Well, a faulty starter on one of my coworker's cars has a large effect on me today; a bit of a schedule change. Thus far I've been in for about two and a half hours and had been planning on working until midnight. Kevin's car doesn't agree with him at the moment, so his coverage of the 4-8 shot tomorrow morning is questionable, and you know what that means!

Hopefully I can get out of here by ten tonight so that I can go home and at least get a few hours of sleep before I have to drag myself back into work. So, now I need to figure out ways to stay awake for 24 contiguous hours with a small nap in the middle, woo!

1) Caffeine. I've never been a coffee drinker, but downing an awful tasting energy drink like Red Bull is always good. I'll definitely have to drop by the 7-11 on my way back in to keep my blood pumping and my eyes open.

2) Movies to watch. Preferably new ones that I actually want to see so that I'll fight back the sleep to watch them. I really wish I had access to streaming like Hulu here at work; I could catch up on Heroes and watch Doctor Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog that has been recommended to me over the weekend. Alas.

3) Sugar rush. Last resort, because of the demonic crash it leads to. Honestly when I'm sixteen hours through a long shift I won't really care what I eat anymore, as long as it makes the sleepy go away.

4) Video games can always keep me awake, but sadly they're not allowed at the place I work. Nothing with a hard drive save the work laptops we're issued. That even means no thumbdrives, so I even have to load everything I want to listen to and watch prior to coming here. Start->Run->spider ?

At the very least, this week will make bank for me. I can't complain about that, especially when the overtime money I make pays my electricity and cable for the month with cash to spare.

In other quick news, apparently the next Watchmen trailer will be attached to Quantum of Solace next month, so that's even more of a reason to go to the new Bond film. As if how great Casino Royale turned out didn't motivate me enough already. Also, Snyder's graphic novel adaptation clocks in at about 163 minutes.

Condolences

Been a hectic day thus far, but things have finally cooled down enough to allow me to post on here, even very briefly. I was running around trying to do things I've never done before, which is always fun, especially when I screw everything up and have to undo and redo everything! Woo!

Anyway, some sad news from this morning. Brian, my partner in crime/mentor caught wind this morning that his father passed away sometime last night. Thus, this week may be a lot more busy than I've been anticipating. Never fear, though, since Kevin will be around and will cover the stuff I won't be here for, namely the 4am stuff that there's no way I can make it in for after working until midnight the night previous.

Hopefully Brian and his family are doing alright after the sad news. At the very least I hope the funeral offers him a bit of closure.

EDIT: Lame. Somebody ate half of the Chex Mix stuff I brought in for a snack today. =(

Michele Bachmann

It's pretty sad to see Minnesota's 6th District Representative Michele Bachmann leading the charge to a new McCarthyist era in the United States.

Anti-American is the new Communist. Tinklenberg '08.

Can't Sleep

Still.



Why didn't anyone else understand these important things? You got to your car and tried all the doors. They were locked. It was a red car and it was new. There was an expensive leather camera case laying on the seat. Out across your field, you could see two tiny people walking by your woods. You began to walk towards them. Now red was your color and, of course, those little people out there were yours too.

Schedule for Next Week

Without further ado, another weird schedule from the halls of the USS RANCOCAS.

Monday - 11:30 to 20:00 (8.5 hours)
Tuesday - 15:30 to 24:00 (17 hours)
Wednesday - 11:00 to 16:00 (22 hours)
Thursday - 7:30 to 16:00 and 23:30 to 24:00 (31 hours)
Friday - 0:00 to 8:00 (39 hours)

I'll probably end up dropping by a couple times on the weekend, too, adding in some overtime hours. And finally I'll be covering a midnight to four shot, wheeeeee.

Joe the Plumber

As much as I loathe to link to Drudge's site, this was pretty funny.

JOE THE PLUMBER
JOE THE PLUMBER
JOE THE PLUMBER
JOE THE PLUMBER
JOE THE PLUMBER
JOE THE PLUMBER

Hahaha, this just in, apparently Mr. Wurzelbacher has a possible relative that had lived in Wasilla, Alaska. There are less than two hundred Wurzelbachers in the country, and Wasilla was a town of less than 5,500 during Palin's mayoral reign. Add to it that Doug Wurzelbacher (of Wasilla) competed in dog sled racing in the same year that Todd Palin raced snowmobiles. Seems like quite the coincidence, eh?

Source.

Election

So, among my research of the political candidates from top to bottom, I'm going to be profiling a few different races around my new digs. With the election only a few weeks away, it's time to start hammering down exactly who deserves my vote and who doesn't.

I live in Moorestown, NJ, part of New Jersey's third congressional district. Since 1993 (technically since 1984, thanks to redistricting), the district has been represented by Jim Saxton (R), who is considered by most profiling agencies as a centrist. There are some things I like and some I don't about Mr. Saxton, but this is basically irrelevant considering he's retiring, citing cancer as the reason for his not pursuing re-election in 2008.

Saxton's previous career was that of a school teacher, which is pretty respectable. For this reason, he opposes the distribution of school vouchers. For my own reasons, I oppose a voucher system as well - this "free market" idea of allowing parents to choose what school their children will attend is just not practical. I know in my hometown of Rochester, MN, this would merely drive parents to send their children to the 'new' school, leaving the older ones not only disused but nearly empty, giving no incentive to remodel and fix up high schools like John Marshall or Mayo.

Saxton is a staunch pro-lifer, which I don't agree with, obviously, but can respect. His opposition to federal funding into embryonic stem-cell research, though, is a big no-no for me. He is, however, for gun control (voted for the Brady Bill), campaign finance reform (voted for the McCain-Feingold act), and very pro-environment. He's gotten nods from the National Wildlife Fund and Nature Conservancy organizations for these efforts, among others.

Now for the candidates actually running for this post. First is Republican Chris Myers, a lifelong public and private administrator for Medford, NJ and Lockheed Martin, respectively. Before moving into civilian work, he served in the Navy during the Gulf War. His positions resemble Saxton in several ways - he's fairly conservative economically, and varies on his social positions. Among them are a pro-life and an anti-gun control slant. He is, however, in opposition to authorizing oil companies to drill off the coast of New Jersey, and for the passage of further SCHIP initiatives ensuring that children around the nation have guaranteed health care.

Opposing Myers is John Adler, a state senator and Democrat. He is pro-choice, acknowledges global warming as a growing threat, and is (and has been) staunchly against the privitization of social security. His voting record looks pretty good, including raising taxes on things like fur clothing, inefficient and luxury automobiles, and tobacco sales. His biggest flaw seems to be charges of corruption by the Myers campaign, where he allegedly took money from a slush fund belonging to Wayne Bryant, a disgraced state senator.

Another one for the D column, it looks like, though I'm sure a few other things will pop up in the coming weeks relevant to the third district's race.

All But Too Late

Schedule for the week - nice and late! And yeah, this is from October 13 through 19.

Monday - 16:00 to 24:00 (8 hours)
Tuesday - 15:00 to 24:00 (17 hours)
Wednesday - 14:30 to 24:00 (25.5 hours)
Thursday - 16:00 to 24:00 (33.5 hours)
Friday - 08:00 to 16:00 (35 to 41.5 hours) [probably not here the whole time]
Saturday - 08:00 to 16:00 (43 to 49.5 hours)
Sunday - 08:00 to 16:00 (44 to 57.5 hours) [probably not here the whole time]

So a really weird week, I'd say. I'm hoping that on Friday I won't really have to be here; Brian can take care of most of the day and I can just blow it off because hey, I have to come in on the weekend. But worse comes to worse... I work a nearly 60 hour week, which either means a ton more pay (AKA it takes care of this month's car payment and utility bill combined) or another half a week's "vacation".

The End is the Beginning is the End

Holidazzle

So I've finally got the times when I'll be in Minnesota hammered down. I hate to basically abandon my work buddies during the Christmas time, but I hope they understand the fact that I have to fly all the way back to Minnesota and having like two days off really isn't worth the price of admission in a lot of ways.

Anyway, I have the 23rd of December clear until the 4th of January off. Almost two weeks, which will not only be a nice break from work, but will be a nice vacation back home.

The Prayer

Is it so wrong
To crave recognition?
Second best
Runner up
Is it so wrong
To want reward?
To want more
Than is given to you
Than is given to you

Tonight make me unstoppable
And I will charm
I will slice
I will dazzle them with my wit
Tonight make me unstoppable
And I will charm
I will slice
I will dazzle
I will outshine the moon

Full Swing October

For those of you who have been asking, my schedule for this week has already been posted here.

I don't have much to say today, except to direct you once again to This American Life who return with another "Frightening Show on the Economy" they say. I'm ten minutes in and it's already amazing.

Oh, and the bill to make the Credit Default Swap market, a huge reason why everything went over the cliff and has been falling since, an unregulated industry, passed 95-0 in 2000 in the Senate. Yeah, nobody's hands are clean in that regulatory aspect.

"If your back door is open in a dangerous neighborhood, the first thing you want to do is close it. Now you could argue that people would break windows, but the first thing you do is close it."

And to be a little positive, somebody snuck in section of the bill that allows whoever's controlling the money (Paulson, I would think, specifically) to purchase stock of the failing companies directly rather than buying off largely useless paper. This would be an actual positive option, in my opinion. It gives the government direct control over the companies, in that if the government gets a significant stake in the company, it can control the hiring and firing of those controlling it. Pretty cool, huh? Since the MSBs are largely worthless and the companies are not for the most part, this would be a lot better deal and potential for return for taxpayers. Also, it lets the companies to lay in the bed they made.

Another Week

So another week has basically flown by. If time keeps accelerating, my life's gonna pass me by.

I got up just in time this morning for work to move my car, since they were repainting the parking lines after resurfacing the lot a few weeks ago.

Bitter

God it feels like an Honest Goodbye.

Something Actually Interesting

So I've decided to do something somewhat interesting; it requires a little backstory.

For elementary school, I attended (like a few of my friends) Sunset Terrace Elementary, which was about a block from my home and made for an easy walk every day. I got used to the faces and the people that were in my classes, and for the most part life was good. During the first day of class in second grade, a student a year older than me entered our 2/3 split grade class by the name of Nahum McLane. I'd never heard a name like that before, or an accent like his.

Nahum was visiting from a small city outside of Sydney, Australia, and his parents enrolled him in school for their extended trip. We met and became quite good friends over the time he was here. He saw snow for the first time, we boggled over the fact that the seasons are reversed in the northern hemisphere, all that. When he returned to Australia, I was certainly sad, and we pledged to become pen pals and keep up with each other's lives. Shortsighted little me quickly lost that connection for reasons I can't fathom or even remember now.

So that's where the story sat for basically fourteen years, until tonight I was poking around on Google Maps looking at deserted islands off of the coast of Madagascar and New Zealand. Some synapse fired and I remembered Nahum, his family, the address I always found so weird: he lived on "Bee Farm Road". So I stuck it into Google along with the house number I barely recalled, and voila, the house exists. Now for the dilemma - does he or anyone who even remembers him still live there? It's been over a decade since our last communique...

Regardless, I've drafted a letter to send to this address and I plan to run it through the post office after work tomorrow if I can get there in time. I included my e-mail address and everything somebody would need to get back in contact with me should they have any useful information, or should they be Nahum himself.

Nostalgia is a really, really weird thing. I've been through a tremendous amount in fourteen years, obviously, and I'm sure neither of us would have any dearth of things to tell each other about. Honestly, whether or not I ever find Nahum, I can't wait to see if my message in a bottle receives a response.

Arrowned

This is an article added on to the bailout bill to make it more appealing to the House.

SEC. 503. EXEMPTION FROM EXCISE TAX FOR CERTAIN WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY CHILDREN.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 4161(b) is amended by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub301 paragraph (C) and by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraph:

‘‘(B) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN WOODEN ARROW SHAFTS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any shaft consisting of all natural wood with no laminations or artificial means of enhancing the spine of such shaft (whether sold separately or incorporated as part of a finished or unfinished product) of a type used in the manufacture of any arrow which after its assembly—

‘‘(i) measures 5⁄16 of an inch or less in diameter, and
‘‘(ii) is not suitable for use with a bow described in paragraph (1)(A).’’.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section shall apply to shafts first sold after the date of enactment of this Act.

WHAT

Prelim Schedule

I'm sure all one of you that look at this will be delighted to see my schedule released early for the week. Woop.

Monday - 15:30 to 24:00 (8.5 hours)
Tuesday - 15:30 to 24:00 (17 hours)
Wednesday - 15:30 to 24:00 (25.5 hours)
Thursday - 7:30 to 20:00 (38 hours)
Friday - 11:30 to 20:00 (46.5 hours)

Lots of overtime. It'll make up for the lack of it this week, no doubt.