2008 In Review

They say imitation is the biggest form of flattery, so Otis and Timmy, I hope you feel flattered. I'm copying the basic concept something both have done this week, although with my own little twist, in order to recap my experiences in the blogosphere this year.

(Keep in mind these stats are only from April 4 when I started tracking the traffic on MM)

Traffic Sources: 50% Referring Sites / 31% Direct Traffic / 15% Search Engines
Visitor Locations: 13 counties including the US, 37 states in the US
Returning Visitors / New Visitors: 67% / 33%
Browser usage: 59% Firefox (this really surprised me in the IE world) / 35% IE / 4% Safari / 2% Chrome

Top 5 Referrers:
1.tigerdad.wordpress.com (my dad's blog)
2. blogger.com
3. google.com
4. facebook.com
5. dixiemagnolia.blogspot.com

My Top 3 favorite posts of my own (in order):
1. Still a Journalist
2. Fighting the Fight
3. No, I Don't Want Corn in My Gas Tank

My readers' Top 3 (according to Google analytics):
1. No, I Don't Want Corn in My Gas Tank
2. Idol Week 10: The Cryfecta
3. Following the Water

And to give props to all the peeps on my primary Blogroll, here's my favorite post from each of them, in no particular order, from 2008:

Defying Expectations by Anne
Death of the Arcade by BuckeyeTimmy
Sorry Honey But I Had An... by Chris
Two Down and One to Go by Dixiemagnolia
A Sweet Tooth by Jennifer
Why I Will Never Be Rich by Kamran
Christopher Frost by Mike Daly
Safeside Superkid by Otis
Cup Caper by StudentOfLife
Footprints on the Moon by Tigerdad
Campstamp: 2008.February.23, Charlestown, MA by Uncle Ted
Evil and Awsome (but mostly awesome) by Wil

So go check out these other great posts. And a Happy New Year's to everyone out there. May you all have a blessed 2009!

A New Perspective on Theme Parks

When I was little, we used to go to Conneaut Lake Park in western Pennsylvania at least once or twice a summer. CLP just happened to be where my parents met when they were working there for a summer during college. So I'm sure they have lots of fond and interesting memories of it also.

My memories of it usually revolve around the sheer fun of it -- there was so much for kids to do. It was the one place I looked forward to going to each summer. They had rides (although at that point, I was nowhere near the thrill-ride junkie I am not; in fact, I was scared to death of them); they had a petting zoo; they had this place called Fairyland Forest; they had midway games; and they had an arcade.

I did dare to ride a few things like a mini-roller coaster called the Wild Mouse and their version of the Tilt-a-Whirl the last few times I went to CLP. They did have this thing called The Hell Hole that I never did go on though because it just looked ominous and my parents always told me I was too little.

I spent some serious bank in the arcade there. And of course, I'm sure my parents spent more than a fair amount just getting us into the park and for tickets to do everything we wanted to.

We moved to the Carolinas though after my fifth grade year and haven't been back to CLP since. Over the years since then, the park has had alot of financial difficulties, changed ownership a few times, and hasn't been open in over a year. They had a pretty big fire in the old dance hall there last year also. I think that's really sad. It was such a magical place for children.

But now I think I've found my adult equivalent.

During our vacation last week to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN, my wife I decided to go to Dollywood. As I have been every other time we've been to the area, I was reluctant to go to Dollywood - period. I have issues with the fact that a lot of entertainment venues seem to like to take advantage of people with high priced foods and souveniers. And I figured Dollywood would not be worth it and would just be another place that sucks hordes of money from its patrons.

So when I paid for our tickets to get into the park my thought was "This better be worth the money I just plunked down."

It ended up being very worth it - and then some. We ended up upgrading our tickets to season passes before the end of our first day there, for a very nominal fee, which can be used for the last few days of 2008 and all of the 2009 season.

I always thought that the shows I saw at Carowinds (outside Charlotte, NC) and Six Flags over Georgia were really dorky. I understand now though that that is how those performers make a living, they truly are talented, and they obviously must enjoy their job to be able to put these performances on four or five times a day, seven days a week, for 9 months at a time. We saw a total of five shows - and each one of them were really awesome - from an adaptation of Babes in Toyland, to an Appalachian bluegrass group performing Christmas carols, to a musical about the birth of Jesus. I came away wishing they had a few more shows to see.

We didn't do a whole lot of rides - just two roller coasters for me, some sort of combination tilt-a-whirl that rocks back and forth that we both rode, and then the carousel. And we did ride the Dollywood Express, an authentic coal-fired locomotive that does a five mile trip through and around the park. We rode it at night so there were few spots where it literally was pitch black as we were winding through the trees outside the park.

What we really enjoyed was going to church service in the park and seeing some demonstrations at some of the specialty shops - like glass blowing, blacksmithing, and carriage building. I really wish I had had my Nikon with me, but I was not about to take something that expensive into Dollywood. I kept telling myself "Oh, that would be such an awesome shot - I wish I had my D40 with me" --- like the gentleman who was painting the glass beads on Christmas decorations, or the one who was putting a wagon wheel together. And some decent pictures of the bald eagles that they have in the park would have been cool too.

So all in all it was very worth it. And I think I've come full circle now on from my favorite childhood amusement park to my favorite adulthood theme park.

A Different Sorta Christmas

I guess last year I set myself up for doing a Christmas recap, so here is my 2008 Christmas -- 5 days overdue, but notheless....

It was a very different Christmas this year.

It was my neice Laken's first Christmas. Laken is an absolute angel. At 10 months, she has developed an absolutely joyous personality. I love watching how she reacts to things. I love her smile - and I love her laugh.

It was the first time my wife and I did a Christmas vacation. We spent most of Christmas week in the Great Smokies --- rented a cabin in Gatlinburg and did some touristy stuff. Gatliburg and Pigeon Forge are amazingly beautiful as it is, but the Christmas lights made it even more fun (save the traffic on the Saturday following Christmas - it was nuts). We even went to Dollywood for the first time and liked it so much we bought season passes for 2009.

It was the first Christmas since my wife and I have been married that we didn't attend Christmas Eve service. We have done this every year up until now. We had hoped to attend a Christmas Eve service at the Presbyterian church in Gatlinburg. But when I asked some locals if that church was having one, I found out it was not. Apparently that church's membership has dwindled severely in recent years, which is very diasppointing and sad - and they were not having any services on Christmas Eve. We decided to do Christmas Eve in, at our cabin. I felt really guilty though about not even going to one of the other local churches' Christmas Eve services, but.....

It did end up being the first Christmas we went to church away from home. On Sunday when we were walking through Dollywood, we saw a church inside the park. At first glance I thought, "Wow, they made a replica of a country church here. I'll bet it has some interesting displays inside." Well, we went inside and found out that it is a full-blown church. We heard the pastor talking to someone about the fact they do 11 am and 5:30 pm services every Sunday when the park is open. We decided to attend the 5:30 service that day - which ended up being packed. We heard a wonderful message and sang Christmas carols. So I ended up not only coming away less guilty about the whole missing Christmas Eve service thing, but happy we were able to celebrate Christmas and its true miracle - the birth of Jesus Christ - actually in church.

Those are probably the things that will stick out in my mind from Christmas 2008 - but these little ones are what just made my Christmas:

The Christmastime Parking Saga

I just thought I could knock this one out really quickly before shutting down for the night - you could potentially find it sad, amusing, and inspiring all at the same time.

Christmas Eve we were in the mood for ice cream and we didn't have any. We had seen a Ben and Jerry's on the main drag in Gatlinburg earlier that day so I told my wife "I'll run down into town, grab a pint, and come right back."

Got downtown and there was no parking spot to be found. I ended up finding what I thought was a timed lot (mind you it did have a sign that said $5/all day) - so I pulled in, got my ticket stub, found a spot, and ran three blocks to Ben and Jerry's.

The store was locked. It was 5:05. They closed at 5. Crap. I had however on my jaunt down the road seen a Baskin Robbins - so I popped in there, got some ice cream, and went back to the car. Drove to the attendant booth, gave him my ticket stub, and here's where it gets interesting.

Me: How much?
Attendant: Five dollars.
Me: You're kidding, right?
Attendant: No, five dollars.
Me: I'm not paying you five dollars. I was only parked for thirty minutes
Attendant: Five dollars

Do you see where this is going yet?

Me: OK. The sign says five dollars per day. It does not say five dollars period. If that's what you intend it to say, then you need to go rewrite it because as it stands that is false advertising. So if you figure you have probably 12 hours in the day when people use your lot at a $5/day rate, that's approximately 40-some-odd cents an hour and 20-some-odd cents for a half hour. So I will give you 50 cents and you'll let me out of the lot, or I will sit here all evening long and block you gate so nobody else can get out.
Attendant: No you won't. You'll pay me five dollars.

Can you guess what happens next?

Me: See, there comes someone up behind me right now.
Attendant: You need to pay me five dollars.
Me: No I don't.
Attendant: Yes you do.

**HONNNNNNKKKK**

Me: Ready to take 50 cents yet?
Attendant: No.

**HONNNNNNKKKK**

Attendant: OK, three dollars.

**HONNNNNNKKKK**

Me: One dollar.
Attendant: Two dollars.

**HONNNNNNKKKK**

Me: One dollar.

**HONNNNNNKKKK**

Attendant: OK, one dollar.

So I pay the price gouger and leave.

The next evening, Christmas Day, as my wife and I are looking for a place to park to go to the restaurant we had planned on eating at, we cannot find a spot. Downtown has exploded with people. It's nuts.

We decided to grin and bear it and pull into the closest lot to the restaurant and break down and have to pay the $10 parking fee on the big sign pointing toward the lot.

But then we make the turn into the lot and see that the gate arms on both sides are wide open. There is no attendant.

WOW. That was really shocking.

We park, go eat, come back, and still no attendant. Hey, free parking. I guess some people do have a heart.

It's people like that who really embody the true spirit of Christmas. Yes, as a business operator they could have chosen to give in to their desire for more profit, but they decided to give into their heart and provide many someones a heartfelt Christmas gift. They decided to give back.

That's what Christmas is truly about. It shouldn't be about buying an expensive gift for someone. It shouldn't be about expecting certain gifts from someone. It's certainly not about trying to get as much profit as you can, nor is it about starting arguments with a parking lot attendant. It's about giving from the heart - even it's something a simple and easy as opening up your gates and not charging parking fees for the day.

Back At Home, Not Quite Back to Normal

My wife and I just got back tonight from a Christmas vacation in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN. I had hoped while we were up there to be able to post something here on MM since I haven't in over a month.

But technology wouldn't cooperate.

We were staying in a cabin without internet access. We did have my wife's new HTC Touch phone with internet access - and I was able to keep up with my Facebook peeps. But I tried logging in and writing a blog on it and that didn't work real well.

Her phone does have Internet sharing, which allows you to use the phone as a conduit for your laptop to get onto the Internet. I tried to get that to work, but to no avail. I probably should have taken the master driver disk with me. No blogging me for this past week.

I have, however, had a lot of topics on my mind lately to blog about - and came up with several new ones this week also. And I found myself as we're walking through Dollywood emailing myself blog ideas.

Now that we're back from our five-day trip, I just realized I have a pretty lengthy list that need to be whittled down, including topics on the energy of children, feeling old, being ornery, refusing to pay $5 for 30 minutes of parking, the necessity of emergency makeup purchases while on vacation, insane drivers, why I hate Windows Vista, a new Star Wars character called Darth Elfus, filling a cabin with fireplace smoke, critters....

I think I have a good list to choose from, but obviously I won't get to everything because that would be a lot for me to type and a lot for people to read.

I'll tell you one thing, it feels really good to be able to use a real keyboard again instead of having to tap all this out with a little bitty stylus.

So if there's anything on that list that sounds interesting to you, let me know. I do owe a "How My Christmas Went" posting, and I think I'm going to do one on my take on theme parks.

For now though, we're at least home - but not quite back to normal. There's a living room full of luggage and a cooler full of food and drinks to unpack, some very smoke-laden clothes to throw in the dryer, and about two days worth of Christmas decoration removal ahead of us.

Until later, I'm out.

O' Christmas Tree

My wife and I went up into the mountains today (well, now, yesterday) in search of a Christmas tree. The whole ride back I was formulating a blog posting about my disdain for popular culture's excuse for Christmas music. I've decided that post will be for another time... but definitely in the next few days.

Right now, that tree is what's on my mind - and not for any good reason, either.

I'll start this off by saying that I should have learned my lesson last year.

The first Christmas my wife and I were together we started a tradition of having a real Christmas tree in the house. We had both grown up with artificial trees, for whatever reason neither of us are certain. So picking out a Christmas tree for us has become a tradition that we look forward to each year.

Up until last year, we would go to the same Christmas tree vendor - a friend of ours from my wife's home church who has his own Christmas tree business. He would always help us pick out a great tree (although one year we got one that thought it was Spring again and started dripping sap all over the presents), recut it, drill it, bale it, and load it on our car.

But last year we went to a "choose and cut" Christmas tree farm in Maggie Valley, NC, picked one out, had it cut, they did the drill, bale and load routine, and we brought it home. Then I found out not only was the bore crooked, but the cut was also.

So I borrowed a friend's drill bit because I didn't have size that I needed, broke out my excuse for a handsaw, and went to work fixing the tree. A hour later, there it stood, in its stand, ready to be decorated.

This year, we went to a different tree farm - figured we'd try a different place. And this one definitely was different.

They had Santa in a little cabin, a lake with fish and ducks, a store, a wreath making department, a (small) fire for roasting marshmallows, a few wooden elves and snowman for children to stick their heads through and get their pictures taken with, about 3 or 4 times as many trees to choose from, a hayride... and about two or three hundred families each with at least two or three kids.

Understandably, I can imagine that all of that compounded on top of the holiday craziness can stress out and distract the people that work there.

Well, we took our hayride to the top, picked out our tree, they tagged it, we rode back down, got some hot cocoa, roasted a couple marshmallows and went to go get our tree and head back home.

They didn't have our tree. We waited - for 45 minutes. They hunted. They didn't have our tree.

Me and our first tree (the one they lost)

Now I can imagine what Clark Griswold would do in a situation like this and it probably wouldn't have been as nice or diplomatic as how I handled it; but I definitely was rather annoyed. I explained we had just driven nearly three hours, we both really liked the tree we had picked out and since they had lost it, we'd like to pick out another. So with what little light was left, we went back up the mountain, found another one, loaded it, and headed home.

Three hours later, I'm hunting down the trusty handsaw and wishing I had that drill bit back. I've been working with one not quite the size I need and it's just not doing the job.

Had I not asked for a discount because of the fact they had lost our first tree, I would have been really, really mad to have paid the full amount only to find out that the cut and the bore in this tree are so crooked you would have thought the Christmas tree farm was run by a bunch of Democratic congressmen.

Needless to say, there's been a lot of unChristmaslike language targeted at the tree in the last two hours. I've got about an inch of the tree mount pin in the tree so it's a balancing act right now.

There's about at least a vaccuum bag's full of needles on the carpet. And I don't know how much sap I just washed off my hands into the sink.

Home Depot is going to be seeing me in the morning. For some lucky drill bit and power saw, they're going to see a new home in the morning. And that tree is going to see the business end of both.

Sidenote: If you've never been to Black Mountain, NC, you need to stop at Berliner Kindl. It's a German restaurant and deli - and they have the best sauer kraut and German potato salad I have ever had.

Giving Thanks

On this day of Thanksgiving, my wife and I had the opportunity to see her sister's family - our neice and two nephews - and have lunch with them. Due to an unforseen turn of events due to a new home kitchen glitch, lunch was at Fatz. Then we spent a little bit of time with them at their house -- playing scrabble with the nephews and chasing the neice around the house.

Then on to my sister's house to spend the evening with her and her husband and our newborn neice Laken, along with my parents and several members of my brother in-law's family. I'm extremely thankful this year for such a blessing in our family, Laken's birth, her good health, and her spirit. That, and I'm very thankful that my parents don't live in Indiana anymore and we are able to see them more often and on holidays.

People don't always give thanks for the good things in their lives. I am as guilty of that as the next person.

Giving thanks for God's gifts is something that we shouldn't just reserve for one day out of the year, but should practice every day, every year.

What am I thankful for this year? The same things I am thankful for each day.

My safety, my job, my cars for not giving me any major problems lately, my country, my freedom.... all kinds of little things and bigger things.

My friends... ( I really have some awesome ones)

Our men and women in the armed forces....

And above all, my family, my wife, and my God and savior.

For all of you out there to whom I haven't wished a Happy Thanksgiving, I extend those belated wishes to you.

Meet Molly-Kate

Molly-Kate is my oldest neice. She turned three today. Here's some of my favorite shots I took today at her birthday party.

Excitement

Deep thought

Curiosity

Welcome to The Husbands' Hangout

Usually when I go with my shopping with my wife it ends up be a very long, tiring experience - one which she tends to enjoy more than I do.

We went to our local mall this evening. It started off being a trip to buy one Hello Kitty themed item - a shirt, a pair of pajamas, something. No, I'm not into Hello Kitty. But my oldest neice is and her birthday is tomorrow.

I figured we'll hit one store, find something, buy it, and be done with it. At the first store we went into we found something my wife liked in minimal time.

Since I have a very 'get in, find the specific item as quickly as possible, buy it, and get out' mentality about shopping I thought "OK, item bought, time to go." Not so much.

Four stores and three hours later of trying to find something "better" (in my wife's opinion), with a brief stop in some gadget store that sells all kinds of cool electronic toys (can't remember the name of it), I start getting dragged into several of the smaller, more obscure children's stores.

At this point, well, frankly alot earlier, I was ready to go. My wife, not so much.

The unfortunate part(s) about our local mall is that it doesn't have any really cool "guy" stores, it doesn't take long to peruse the tool and electronics departments at Sears, and there is no arcade.

Here's the tangent to the story:

When I was little and I heard we were going to the mall, the only thing on my mind was going to the arcade, trying out the new games, and trying to kick my dad's butt at Defender.

Aladdin's Castle was the name of the arcade. And it was the end all, be all of video gaming for all males in the Venango County area of Pennsylvania. My dad and I spent many a quarter (actually, we had to trade our quarters in for tokens before playing) at Aladdin's Castle. Mom would disappear into the mall - sometimes dad with her, sometimes not - and I would immerse myself into a world of barrel throwing monkeys, cotrollable yellow blobs eating little dots, and centipede and millipede erradication.

I miss those video games. They're hard to find, but still so addictive. I actually saw one of my favorites - the Star Wars video game (the one where you get to pilot the X-wing down the trench of the death star) at a local comic book store recently. I asked how much they wanted for it; and needless to say it would take many years to gather enough quarters to purchase it.

OK, back to the main point of the post.

Midway through the second store of the night, I started to hatch an idea. Malls need to do something more for husbands.

My initial thought was to station a TV outside of the entrance to every women's dressing room area. You know, the area where the husbands stand around with an armload of bags, pacing back and forth, waiting on their wives to come out and say "What do you think about this on me" and the only thing you know they're all thinking is "As long as it gets me out the store quicker, it looks fine." The area where sometimes there may be one chair -- and nobody wants to be the one to sit in because you don't want to be a complete wuss in front of the other guys and you want to seem like a gentleman if there happens to be a daughter/child, mother, sister or female friend of someone who is in the dressing room and may want to sit down.

We're guys, we can take it.

Well, having a TV outside of the dressing room would be nice. But here's a better idea. It's called The Husband's Hangout and it's going to be my first business endeavor some time in the future. It will be franchised nationally at ever major shopping mall.

The exact schematics or floorplan, if you will, have yet to be determined, as well as its maximum capacity. But the experience would focus on The Chair.

Now this is not your average, ordinary lounge chair. It comes equipped with an Ipod docking station, wireless internet accessibility, head to toe heating and massage capability, and an integrated control pad that allows you to control.... wait for it...

Your own, individual monitor that swings out from behind the back of the headrest, swivels around, and locks in place at a comfortable distance for your viewing pleasure. The monitor allows you watch movies (you have access through your control to any movie ever released onto video) or any TV channel imaginable, play video games (you have access to any video game ever released), along with some other yet to be determined functionality.

From your lounge chair, you can order what's called Hangout Hospitality, i.e. the equivalent of room service. Have a burger, popcorn, or pizza and/or drink delivered to your chair from the in-facility kitchen.

Along with the yet to be exactly determined number of The Chair in each facility, there would be several foosball tables, air hockey tables, pool tables, several widescreen TVs on which groups of husbands can watch the game(s) of the day, and, yes ---- an old-style arcade, complete with all the best stand up arcade games and pinball games we played as youngsters.

The main rule of The Husband's Hangout:

• Only husbands are allowed in, and, even at that, only those husbands whose wives are currently shopping at that moment in that particular mall, and once their wives are done, they must leave until the next time they return to the mall with their wife

Obviously there are some logistical issues relating to verifying the conditions of the rule.

We don't want just any Joe Husband coming in off the street into the hangout. You can only be there while your wife is shopping at that mall. And we have to watch out for the single guys trying to take advantage of The Hangout's luxuries. Having single guys inside would defeat the purpose of The Hangout.

I guess we would have to implement some sort of membership. There's some other things that will need to be ironed out, but I think that can all be worked out over time before the first location opens.

Things I Would Have Asked During My White House Visit

Barack Obama met with President George W. Bush this week during his first visit to the White House as president-elect.

I can only imagine what an overwhelming, yet electric experience that would be for anyone in such a position. Such a historical event, in such a historical place.

No matter who the person, you have to respect the president, whether outgoing or incoming, the authority and trust they represent, and their role as our commander in chief. And to meet with the president, whether you're a common citizen or the president-elect, is an both an honor and a privilege. You have to be in awe of the White House itself too. It represents our 232 year history (Ok, it's a few years shy of that, itself), has countless stories to be told (and many secrets that we will never know about) and is the residence and office for the most powerful person in the world.

I've never met a president before. I met many presidential candidates and even met George W. Bush once during his 2000 campaign. I got him to autograph an issues publication of his.

That being said, if I were Barack Obama (or any president-elect meeting a sitting president in the White House the first time after the election), there are a still a few questions I would have to ask that probably are not on the typcial list of things to ask:

• Do we really have an alien ship stashed at Area 51?
• Will they let you hook a Playstation or a Wii up to the projection system in the White House theater?
• Have you ever wanted to go off script with a knock-knock joke?
• They do carry chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in the kitchen, right?
• So this button right here, bad.. OK, and this one is for room service?
• Where are all the secret passageways?
• Think they would mind if I played paintball in Rose Garden?
• It's pretty fun to slide down the banister of the main staircase, isn't it?
• Those headphones they give you to listen to at international meetings -- you can plug those up to an Ipod, right?
• Can I issue an Executive Order that all of Congress participate in Dress Up As Your Favorite Star Wars Character Day?
• Have they ever let you go out into the woods with the presidential station wagon in the dead of winter to select and chop down the First Family's Christmas tree?
• Who do I need to to give a 6-month vacation to in order to be able to fly Air Force One for a few minutes?
• What's the best game you've ever bowled in White House bowling alley?
• There's a massager and heating unit built into the big chair in the Oval Office, right?
• Would you really call it an Oval, or more of a Circle or Ellipse?
• Will they let Air Force One buzz the tower at Andrews, or do they always say that the pattern is full?
• Which one of the foreign presidents/national leaders is the most fun to trade humorous email forwards with?
• Think they'll let me take Bill Clinton's picture down and replace it with a big orange Clemson Tiger Paw?

and --- drum roll, please.........................

• Hey, all these flashy screens and buttons in the Situation Room are really cool and make it look like something out of a sci-fi movie - don't you ever want to stroll in dressed as Darth Vader?

Election Day Part 4: So, So, So Disappointed

Damn.

That's pretty much all I have to say.

I wish us all good luck. We're going to need it.

This is not the change I was hoping for.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's wonderful that we've come to the point as a nation of Americans, brothers and sisters, to elect a minority president. I just wish it would have been someone else.

We're in for ... well, we're in for four years of socialist liberal policies that could potentially bankrupt our country, especially if we start spreading the wealth around too much.

We're in for tax increases. We're in for more entitlement programs. We're in for more government involvement in people's lives.

We're in for a signficant weakening of funding and support for the people who need that government involvement the most: our men and women in uniform. Iraq and Afghanistan will be in for a rough ride in turn. We could be in for more terrorist activity on our soil. Let's hope and pray that doesn't happen.

This is a dark, dark day for America.

We needed someone who would put us back on the map as a strong world power with a vibrant economy. That won't happen under Obama's watch, I can guarantee you that.

I guess we just ride out the storm the best we can and hope that someone better will come along in 2012 with the ability to fix the changes that Obama will screw us all up with.

Election Day Part 3: Problems and Solutions

What do you get when you are not told when you walk in the door which line to get into? (And you realize 30 minutes into your wait you should have been in the other line because of the first letter of your last name)

A lot of confusion and long-ass lines.

What do you get when you mix slow people, who have to flip through pages of books with the registration rolls on them, and record voter turnout?

Even longer lines.

What do you get when you mix people who don't know how to use technology along with long-ass lines?

Much longer lines.

How do we solve this?

Well, I have a couple of thoughts about that.

Solution I (please note this involves still going to the polls):
Our drivers licenses in South Carolina have bar codes on them. Supposedly, voter registration is tied into our driver's licenses.

I buy a box of Claritin a month. When I do this, they scan my license bar code. If they can scan my license in order to authorize me to purchase pseudophedrine, then I don't know why the same thing can't be done to verify people's voter registration.

When you go to a concert or sporting event nowadays, they will scan your ticket's bar code before you are let into the event. If this kind of technology exists, let's use it in other ways.

So we implement this how?

A person with a hand-scanner stationed at each door. You can't get into the building until your license is scanned. The scanner is linked wirelessly to a nearby computer which is linked with the central voter registration database. It verifies that you are registered. The person with the scanner verifies that you are the person pictured on the license. And you're good to go.

Then they tell you which of the (and let's not do two lines, let's do three or four) lines to split off to.

Things would go much faster.

Solution II:
I get that the integrity of the process needs to be maintained and that making sure the person voting is who they say they are is part of maintaining that integrity. So really, this solution might not be as practical as of yet given the limitations of technology from multiple standpoints... but, here goes.

When someone registers to vote, they file either a fingerprint or retinal scan (or both). And preferably this be done when they get their driver's license and all of that data linked between the DMV and Voter Services' offices.

When it comes time to vote, you go to your computer. You go to your state's election office's website. It prompts you for some login credentials - including your name, birthday, registration number, and a Personal Indentification Number that you create upon your initial registration to vote.

Then you use the web-cam in your computer for your retinal scan and/or the fingerprint reader for further security and to complete your login.

Then you come to a page or pages that has all your ballot. You cast your vote. You hit submit - and then the system submits your ballot and locks you out from further use until the next election.

And in conclusion...

OK, the realistic application of either method may not yet be practical. But one could only hope.

Here's another thing to consider... but this idea has it's own issues also.

There is no reason why in this day and age that as votes are cast on these electronic machines that the votes cannot be submitted in real-time, electronically, into any database in which they need to be registered so that a running count of the votes is available throughout the day, nationwide.

And here is the issue with that - if people know who is leading, it will end up not being about voting but more of a contest. The fairness of the election and of the voting could be questioned.

Regardless, there's a lot of things that our election officials could do to make the process easier and quicker. But we've got a process, and that's the most important point of all. We all have an equal opportunity to have our say about who sits in the Oval Office or who represents us on city council.

Election Day Part 2: The Return

All day long I had been hearing about long lines at the polling places. My boss didn't make it in until after 9 am this morning because of lines at his polling place. Another coworker of mine did the same thing I did this morning - went to vote, left, and planned to return later in the day.

I asked my boss today if he would mind if I leave by about half an hour early to give me some extra time if needed to stand in line to vote. He said as long as I was going to vote for McCain, no problem.

"Yeah, well, I would rather vote for Fred Thompson, but he didn't stick it out, so yes, McCain," I said, hopped in the car, and left.

As I neared the school where our precinct votes, I expected to see the infamous long lines of voters' cars I had been hearing about all day.

But the parking lot was almost vacant. When I got inside, there was nobody waiting to check in. And each of the dozen or so voting boxes had one person casting their vote.

I joked around with the ladies at the desk a little bit about the lines -- apparently it was non-stop until around 2 o'clock. Then it was steady for a while and slowed to a trickle a little bit before I arrived.

I asked if I could take a picture of the non-existent lines so I could post in on my blog, because I told them that some people may not believe me when I would tell them that at 5 pm there was no line whatsoever.

First off they didn't quite get what a blog is. Secondly, they didn't quite get why I wanted to take a picture to go along with it. And, third, they said no. They said cell phones are not allowed to be used inside a polling place.

I would have argued with them a little bit about the point that technically I wasn't going to use the phone to make a call -- but I didn't quite feel like arguing with a bunch of retirees. I did that at church once recently and it didn't turn out real well.

Anyway... my vote it cast. Not that it will really count much. But I know I voted - I would have felt guilty if I hadn't.

Now when people start bitching about how bad things under Obama will be and then how they have gotten, those that had been brainwashed into voting for him will have no room to talk because they're the fools that will have put him in office. And I will happily say, well, you should have voted for the other guy like I did.

Oh, and to top it all off, they were out of the "I Voted" stickers. Not that I really care, but I did ask about those -- and then told them that I'll just go out and purchase a "Hi, my name is" tag and write on it "I Voted" and wear that around for the rest of the day.

Election Day

I went to go vote this morning. I knew that there would be a high turnout today. But was both pleasantly and annoyingly surprised when I stepped inside the high school that is our polling place and the line was already at the door -- and mind you this is in a hall that's probably 100 or so feet long before you get to where the voting booths are stationed.

Ok... time to make a decision.

Decision made, I stepped into the line. Within 5 minutes, the line was already snaking around the corner of the building outside. Within another 10 minutes, the line in front of me had not moved.

I did some quick calculations. At this rate, I will make it to work at noon.

Sorry Johnny, I'll come vote for you this afternoon. I stepped out of line and headed to the car.

I guess I'll try to leave work a little early and go vote then. I'm sure the lines will be even longer, but then I won't have to worry about never making it to work.

On my way back to the car my thought was "Well, if they're all voting McCain that's a good thing." Then I noticed an Obama bumper sticker on a car pulling up to a spot near mine.

Well, OK - so maybe he'll only get 1 vote out of my precinct. I could only wish that out of all the voters nationwide today that one person would be the only one voting for Obama. Unfortunately, no such luck.

You Have Got to Be Kidding Me....

And as we're buying our Halloween candy last night for the -maybe- five or six trick or treater's that we will have, I see the above scene.

This is wrong and tacky on so many levels, I don't even know what to say, other than "Come on, Target; are you kidding me?"

Are you as disgusted by this as I was?

A New Coach, A New Attitude

I've never really cared for football. I'm really not a big sports person to begin with. About the only sports that I pay attention to are Clemson sports -- and even at that, the bulk of that attention goes to football.

As a student, it's part of the ritual to go to the games and pull for your team, whether you're a Tiger, Gamecock, Bulldog, Terrapin, whatever. Then as an adult, it's part of the ritual to receive solicitations to join your alma mater's athletic club and/or give money to the the program. And you are kind of expected to be able to at least pull for your team in public conversations, which I do.

I have a lot of school pride and I like to be able to joke around with people who support opposing teams when Clemson beats them. But I've never been big into donating to the Clemson athletic program for several reasons, including the fact that the program is obviously all about football.

For all the time I sat in the stands at Clemson cheering for my Tigers, or cheered at home watching the TV, I never really believed in the evident coaching philosophy at Clemson.

Win at any cost.

Other than the fact that I admittedly don't know alot about the rules or technique of football, even after "attempting" to watch it for all these years, I have never supported the "win at any cost" philosophy.

In the last 16 years since I started college, Clemson has gone through three head coaches. In each case, they didn't come out and say outright that the reason that coach was "fired" was because their team didn't perform up to expectations and that lackluster performance was the coach's fault. But it's Clemson athletics, where football reigns. If the football team is doing bad, that affects revenue. From a business point, OK, it makes sense. But, again, I have a lot of philosophical issues with that.

I've obviously never been a coach. I have no idea what's that's like. But I can guarantee you that any coach has a tremendous amount of pressure on them from multiple directions. That is going to happen to anyone in that type of position.

It's just like a business. There is a direct line of accountability. Everyone has clear roles and duties. If one link in the chain is weak, it effects the entire chain.

I get that.

But the biggest part of a successful business, or team, or whatever, is attitude - how you perceive the situation, or game as the case may be; how motivated you are; and what your goal is and how you want to achieve that goal.

For years and years at Clemson, it's been about being the top dog; getting that ACC championship; going to the national title game and winning the championship again. Sure, it's fun to go up to your Gamecock friends the next day and say, "Ha, ha. Our team beat you."

But, really, to me that's neither here nor there.

One of the reasons why I don't watch pro-football or many other pro sports is because there are so many people who are in that because of the money. They may have at one point had the heart and passion for the game, but over time the money has taken over their focus.

I think it's wrong to put that goal of winning this and winning that out there for college athletics. First and foremost, it's a college. Students are supposed to be there to learn. So in an ideal world, the athletics should be there as a fun, extracurricular activity in which you don't have to worry about whether you getting that touchdown is going to affect your chances of getting a multi-million dollar pro-contract or your coach's chances for advancing to a bigger school.

But you get all these crazed athletic supporters that pump millions of dollars a year into a program to pressure young adults into performing something that really isn't the point of college. They want the win. And, of course, the athletes want the win too. You can't really be an athlete and not want the win.

So while they're in the game, one would hope that those athletes would go about achieving that success on the field with the right attitude.

They've been writing all week long about the change in attitude in the Clemson program since Bowden was fired last week. (They can say whatever they want about Bowden not being there anymore, we all know he was fired). Commentators have been saying that there is an palpable excitement in the air.

Following the Tigers loss to Georgia Tech yesterday, Coach Swinney made some comments that make the new change in attitude clear:

• “I could give a rat’s tail what that scoreboard says. What I was after today was to get a bunch of guys to come together as one,” he said. “To unite the Clemson and try to create some energy. We got that done today.” - Greenville News, Oct. 19, 2008
• “Yeah, we could have done some things better, we stunk it up in the first half. We had a couple of bonehead plays. We made some mistakes that hurt us on the scoreboard. This wasn’t about the game. “They laid it on the line today,” he said, “played with passion. I don’t think that’s been the case. They brought it.” - Greenville News, Oct. 19, 2008

So it looks like now we've got a coach that has the right idea. It's not all about winning. It's about having fun, having and showing heart and enthusiam. And playing with passion. It's all about attitude.

And I think we've finally found the right attitude in Dabo Swinney.

Where Did We Go Wrong?

George Bush is bad - he has screwed everything up. It's all George Bush's fault.

Wah, wah.

I am so tired of hearing that.

What has happened in the last few years? Housing foreclosures have gone up, home values have declined, oil prices have skyrocketed, China's economy has taken off while ours has gone into the toilet, we're set to retire our shuttle fleet and leave our astronauts at the mercy of a nation that is trending back towards communism... the list goes on.

Where did we go wrong?

Who's to blame? You may say Bush, I say Congress. Politics 101 - Congress is who puts legislation in place. The power is really in their hands to fix what we've allowed to get broken. Who has been the majority party in Congress for the last two years? The Democrats.

Who else is to blame? Now let's look at the chief executive.

You may say Bush is to blame. Ok. So he's not real smart and he can't pronounce "nuclear," but he had the largest terrorist attack on the United States to deal with along with political and economic fallout that resulted directly from those attacks. His record of intelligent decisions may not be stellar, and some blame can be put on him, his cabinet, and his advisors. But look what he's had to deal with.

I say a large part of the blame is on Clinton. He should have surgically taken care of Osama bin Laden and the Taliban when he had the chance, but he chose not to. Then we wouldn't (hopefully) have had a major terrorist attack on our country, have to deal with being in a multiple-front war right now, and be spending the billions upon billions of dollars to fight that war.

Then we can look at it from a "trickle-back" standpoint, and lay some blame on the Democratic congress under George H. Bush, go back and put some blame on Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon ... and while we're at it, let's put some of the blame on all of us for taking the daring and brave move in creating Isreal following World War II. Most of the middle east has had us in their crosshairs since then.

(Okay, so going back and changing or stopping any of the things that have even in the smallest way contributed to the current state of our economy and our reputation around the world opens up the whole issue of screwing up the space-time continuum and creating innumerable paradoxes)

Fast forward back to 2008 - and we've got McCain blaming Obama and the Democrats. And Obama blaming McCain and the Republicans.

We should just go ahead and portion out the blame so everyone in Congress has some laid on them. And we can continue the blame game all we want. Really, though, it's time for all of these clowns in Washington to stop being politicians and start acting like leaders.

Lead us into a safe and prosperous future. Don't just take a backseat with the nation on autopilot.

After watching the presidential debate the other night, I came to the conclusion that this election for me is really about who is the lesser of two evils and who has less potential to screw this country up even further.

I really don't know. I would like to think McCain. But here he goes off on a $300 billion mortgage buyout. This after a $700 billion bailout, recovery package, whatever you want to call it. Granted, he says, oh yeah most of the money to do the mortgage buyout is already in the recovery package.

You know what, we will all still end up picking up the tab for these predatory lenders, for greedy Wall Street executives, for corporations with no real care in the world for the Average Joe Sixpack (thanks Sarah for the catch-phrase). We are all going to be footing the bill for this for a long time.

And it's time we put an end to coprorate greed, its lobbyists, and the pork they receive. Again, as with everything in the political world, easier said than done.

Both McCain and Obama can say "tax-breaks" all they want, but the sad reality is that with our economy on the track it is and our ability to cover this bailout, get our nation out of debt, and put additional corrective measures into place to fix our economy, it's going to take money out of all of our pockets and I would venture to guess we'll not see any tax breaks, and instead have tax increases under either candidate.

I really have a half-mind to write Fred Thompson in on the ballot because both Obama and McCain grate my last nerves.

I'm sick of this election. And I can believe I'm saying this, but I'm sick of arguing with people over why I am more inclined to vote for McCain over Obama.

Most of it is philosphical and goes back to smart and limited government, and core Republican beliefs of family values and a strong national defense.

Call me a reluctant Republican this go round all you want. I really am.

I'm just ready to get this over with, deal with what we have to deal with for the next four years, hope whomever is elected doesn't screw things up even worse, and hope for better choices in 2012.

Three Guys, Two Girls, and A Car Battery

No it's nothing sick and twisted. Just kind of sad and humorous.

I'll start it off with a joke: What do a public relations director, an automotive technician, and an aircraft technician have in common? You might at first say, "well, that's a weird combination."

Throw in an automotive battery and a 33rd birthday and you've got an average Wednesday night in Greer, South Carolina.

Yesterday happened to be my wife's birthday. The day had gone pretty good. We were having dinner at church (birthday dinner at church?, you might ask.... well, the celebratory dinner is this weekend. we do church activities on Wednesday as a routine) and my wife said, "It's been a really good birthday."

That thought didn't really last much longer. After our programs, we walked to opposite ends of the street and got in our respective cars that we had driven from our respective workplaces -- and then I get a call from her.

"My car won't start," she says.

Great. So I went to her car and tried to start it. No dice. Went inside and pulled a friend of ours who is an automotive technician off the Praise Team drum kit and asked for his help.

We tried to jump the car. With two different sets of jumper cables. No dice.

Great. So my wife and I take my car to the AutoZone down the street and I run in to get a battery. They have two people working the store, a line eight people deep, and are getting phone calls every two to three minutes. Everyone seems to want parts looked up in the computer, so it took forever just to make it to the counter.

"Battery, 03 Honda Accord, 4 cylinder, 2400," I rattle off. Guess what? --- they have ONE in stock. Fine, I'll take it. What's the damage? $90 plus tax.... WHAT? "Well sir, it's a three year battery and its our Gold level...."

"I've got your *grumble grumble* Gold level...."

And I walk out the door with the most expensive battery I've ever purchased.

Get back to the church. Fumble around BOTH cars for a wrench or socket that will fit the stupid terminals on the old battery, and all I could find was a pair of pliers.

After some creative ways of trying to get a pair of pliers to turn some very tight terminal screws, I threw the pliers on the ground.

"Honey, we gotta go to the house and get my tool set," I say. She refuses to leave the car. "It's parked at a church. Nobody's going to do anything to it." She refuses to leave the car and stays in it at the church.

So I went 15 minutes home, got my tool set, and went back. By the time I got back, everyone remaining at the church was on their way out. Our friend the automotive technician and his wife, along with another friend, an aircraft technician, are all outside talking to my wife.

I break out the tool set, and all three of us guys proceed to fumble through it by the light of a cell phone flash (the remain on until you press the button again flash is a great feature on my phone) for the right sized socket. We each take turns finding one and trying it and don't have any success.

At which point the girls decide to take another car and shine its lights at my wife's car for some added light.

I'm still not sure what size socket the freaking terminals take -- all I know is that the aircraft mechanic took an adjustable wrench, and with some brute force, finally got them to turn, all with the tips of the wrench gripping the very top of the terminal screws.

Then some more fumbling with the phone goes on on in trying to get light down the side of the battery, as I'm trying to fasten the battery restraint back on. Finally, everything went into place.

From start to finish, the whole ordeal took and hour and a half. I took the old battery and put it in the trunk. When I walked back to the front of the car, the aircraft technician is sitting on the ground organizing my tool kit which had been a mess when I opened it up.

And we followed that up with a 9:45 pm trip to Denny's.

Needless to say, now I've got an organized tool kit, a double cheeseburger in my system, an old battery to take in and get $5 for, a mess of jumper cables in my car trunk -- and my wife got a $90 battery for her birthday.

Not exactly the gift she had in mind.

Is She? Could She Be?

I case you haven't noticed it by now on the right hand side of your screen, I would just like to take this opportunity to highlight a blog post by my former Political Science professor Chuck Dunn ---- "Is Sarah Palin the Next Ronald Reagan?"

This is a very interesting post - and Dr. Dunn brings up some very interesting points comparing Reagan and Palin's backgrounds, personalities, and beliefs.

Nothing in this world is certain. Something can happen at the very last minute to throw something out of whack. But if anyone has their pulse on what will or has a high likelihood of happening in the political arena, Dr. Dunn is one of the people whose opinions I respect the most and would look to first.

I had two political science professors at Clemson that really invigorated my political beliefs and thought processes. Dr. Dunn is one of them; Dr. Dave Woodard is the other. I would tend to believe either of their speculations, predictions, what-have-you, over any of the major political analysts we see on the national news. (Granted, both have been called on from time to time on the national arena for their expertise).

So to read Dr. Dunn's post and the tone in which he writes it -- I'm thinking his money is on McCain-Palin taking Obama down in the end.

I like Sarah Palin - alot. I really think her vice-presidency will do a lot to reinvigorate the Republican party. I hope it does anyway. She may very well end up being our first female president.

There are a lot of politicians in America. But the term "statesman" has only applied to a select few people that have served in the halls of Congress or in the White House. It's a very exclusive group and it's not one that you can really buy your way into. You might argue that from the perspective of who has the biggest campaign wallet, one can certainly try to buy their way into that club.

But being a "statesman" is not something tangible. It's just something that someone just naturally exudes.

Ronald Reagan I think was our last true statesman. A man of the country, a man of the people, a man of his word, and a man of principle. Is Sarah Palin or will she become our first true "stateswoman"? Only time will tell.

Even if McCain doesn't win this election, I don't think we'll be counting Sarah Palin out anytime soon. The fire has been lit......

Fighting the Fight

It didn't really hit me until I was on my way into work today.

I knew it was coming up, but in the rush of work and other things, I didn't realize that the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks was today until someone on the radio station I was listening to mentioned it.

Where were you that morning?

My wife and I were in the car on our way to work, listening to the radio when one of the DJs announced that an commercial airliner had just struck a tower of the World Trade Center. We listened as they were reporting what was coming over their wire.

Nobody knew what was going on - even when I got into work a few minutes later.

You would think at a TV station where people are supposed to be on top of things that someone would know what was going on. But things were happening so fast.

We watched as the second plane struck the second tower; as reports and video came in of a plane hitting the Pentagon; of another plane crashing in a field in Pennsylvania; and then as the Towers collapsed.

All you can think is "My God. All those people."

Throughout the morning false reports of bombs were flooding the national airwaves; phone lines and cell systems in New York and DC were overwhelmed.

When I heard of a suspected bomb at the State Department, my first thought was "Where's Tim?"

A good friend of mine who works (in Argentina right now) for the State Department was working in DC at the time. I hit the phone and started dialing. I kept trying to reach him all day. "Gotta find out if Tim's OK."

I finally talked to his wife around lunchtime and she said he was OK and that they were both at home, safe. Thank God. That was one of the biggest weights ever lifted off my chest when I heard her say that.

In our newsroom, you could see the reactions -- how people felt -- on their faces. But we had a job to do also. We did our job. We reported on how this tragedy was affecting our area of the country, our counties, our towns, our schools, our churches, and families --- how shocked, hurt, and angry we were.

All those emotions compounded on top of each other -- after the tears and holding your loved ones, watching the same footage over and over, you can't help but feel numb.

I felt that way for days afterwards.

They say each generation has one day that will define them. Some have more. For my parents' generation it was the day JFK was assassinated. I would venture to guess that the day we first set foot on the moon was one also.

For years, I thought that Jan. 28, 1986 would be the one that defined my generation - when the Challenger exploded. I know it had a tremendous impact on my life. I still don't like to watch that video.

Sept. 11 was defining moment in history - not only for the the youth of this generation, but for every American and the entire world.

We saw more flags, more patriotism, more support for one another, and probably the largest outpouring of sympathy and community that this country had probably seen since the attack on Pearl Harbor. I wish that all that would have continued on as strong even to now. But alot of the flags have since become faded or torn or put up in a closet; many of the yellow ribbons have been taken down or lost.

A few weeks later my wife and I were at a NASCAR race. Halfway through the race, they just stopped it.

Over the loudspeakers, the announcers say that it is being reported that our military forces have begun a bombing campaign in Afghanistan. You wouldn't believe the volume of cheers, applause, and screaming of "USA, USA" that was going on. Then President Bush came over the monitors and loudspeaker as he addressed the nation. And afterwards, more cheers, applause, and screaming of "USA, USA".

I will never forget Sept. 11, 2001. It still hurts us though. Some people don't want the hurt to remain. Different people remember and honor in different ways.

I noticed a few quotes in an article on FoxNews this morning that kind of struck me.

• "We've kept it alive, and perhaps kept it alive too long," said Charles Wolf, whose wife, Katherine, was killed at the World Trade Center. "How many times do you reopen the wounds?"
• "The remembrances have to continue; for how long, I can't say," said Barbara Minervino of Middletown, N.J., whose husband, Louis, died in the towers.

A former supervisor of mine has a daughter who watched from a nearby office tower as the World Trade Center burned, people jumped from windows 100 stories up, and the buildings collapased. It had such an impact on her that she went into counseling afterwards.

I know people and have friends that have fought in the desert of Iraq. I have never heard them question why we are there or what their mission was. Our mission is clear: Protect our way of life. Protect those who can't protect themselves. Foster Democracy in nations that have never known such freedoms.

I stand behind each and every one of our men and women in uniform. I support them; I love them; and I want them to come home. But at the same time, I know they are there for a purpose.

We can second guess our government all we want. That is our right. We can say that McCain will be a better president for this reason or Obama will be a better president for that reason. That is our right.

They can call George Bush every name in the book for all I care. They can complain about our military and our intelligence community's methods and tactics all they want. People can sit back and bitch about the Patriot Act all they want.

We can say that the War on Terror was justified -- that our actions in Afghanistan and Iraq have been worth it. You won't ever catch me saying they have not been. We can speak out against it. That is our right.

But it is our responsibility to remember the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001 and the families and victims. It is our responsibility as Americans to make sure that never happens again. It is the cross we have to bear.

We need this country to be secure. We need to keep the future our of country and of our children in mind at all times. We need to continue to fight to preserve our way of life.

A wise Vulcan once said, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

Your may think, "Well I need a 47-inch wide screen TV, or I need a gas guzzling SUV or a pair of $150 pair of shoes. I need to go out tonight, dress like a skank, and party with my friends. I need to go yell at a referee and act like an obnoxious ass at a little league game." You don't really NEED to do any of that. It's your right as an American to do any of that; and that right is being protected by men and women in dark holes of the Pentagon, on the streets of Baghdad, in the warden's office at Guantanamo Bay, and in the mountains of Afghanistan.

If it keeps my family safe - if it keeps my friends safe - if it prevents my neices and nephews from growing up in a world where they worry about planes falling out of the sky to hurt them, then I don't care the lengths that our government has to go to in order to keep this country safe.

One of my all time favorite quotes was on the very last episode of Jericho: "That is the responsbility we've got here... Because that's how things get better and people stay free."

So let's go forward, remembering those who died on Sept. 11; remembering and honoring those who have died for us in the line of duty since then; remembering and honoring where we were, what we've learned and how we've grown; learning from our mistakes; and continuing to fight the fight that needs to be fought.

This is What We've Been Waiting For

Graphic courtesy/via FoxNews.com

Today is the most exciting day I have ever experienced as a political junkie - and as an American.

Not that John McCain really excites me himself...

But I've been waiting for the day when I've been hit with political chills of excitement. It just happened.

John McCain picked THE BEST candidate for the job of Vice President. He picked THE BEST choice.

Sarah Palin.

We've got this in the bag now. Had he gone with Romney or Pawlenty, I would have moved to Australia.

Sarah Palin.

I am so, so excited about this.

Oh, and to lead in to McCain's introduction today with Van Halen's "Right Now"..... Sweet.

(more to come later....)

The Land Where Manners Stand Still

So the wife and I are sitting in a CVS, waiting on a prescription a few evenings ago. Some guy is walking to the back of the store and I hear him talking. As he rounds the corner at the end of the aisle and starts coming towards us, I notice he's got a Bluetooth device in his ear.

You know, one of those little "Hey look at me, I think I look cool but I really look like a geek from Star Trek" devices.....

He's not keeping his conversation very private. He was talking to someone named Lee, who at first I thought was a woman.

At first, the conversation went something like ".... I think we need to talk more about this .... Lee, this is a tough decision for me... there are some issues that I don't think are getting resolved..."

Oh man, dude is breaking up with his girlfriend in a CVS over a Bluetooth. How lame.

Then we hear "Lee, I think you're a great father.... Your son has some serious issues .... He needs help ... I want to be there to support you, but I don't think I can anymore ... Your son needs to talk to someone."

While all of this is being said, he's making a purchase at the prescription counter and conversing with the cashier also. I was just baffled at the complete lack of respect he was showing for the person he was talking to over the phone AND for the cashier by having this conversation out in the open, at a pharmacy counter nonetheless.

I don't get people like that.

I don't get why people think other people need to hear their what should be private conversations.

Why do people think the world needs to hear them yak on their cell phone all the time?

I think the cell phone is helping lead us down a path from which there is looking to be less and less of a return -- to The Land Where Manners Stand Still.

If I have something that I don't want other people to hear, I won't talk on my cell phone in public. I try to avoid talking on my cell phone in public in the first place. I'm really not a big phone person anyway. There are a lot of times when I'm with a group of friends or in a situation where I think it is really inappropriate to be taking phone calls -- and I'll just press the ignore button on the phone and let it go to voice mail.

If it is someone important, I will call them back when it is a more convenient time.

I see a ton of people that are totally the opposite of this. I know several people who I think have Cellphone Attachment Disorder, where they can't live unless they're on their phone talking to someone. It doesn't matter where they are, when they are, or who they're with, they always have to be on the phone. That I truly don't understand and think is completely rude.

Then there are the people who think they, themselves, are just the end all be all. This gets back to the "Gimme" attitude.

"Gimme a hamburger and fries. Oh, and gimme a coke too" ---- or "gimme that pen. I need to write you a check"

Well, gimme ain't never got me nothin'....

Whatever happened to "May I please have.." or "Would you mind if I borrow your ...." ?

I went through my adventures in paying car taxes and getting a new license plate today. All in all, not a bad experience. Didn't take as long as I expected. As always, there were a fair share of totally ignorant people at the tax office and at the DMV who have no clue how the process of paying taxes or getting a vehicle registered go. I'm amazed that some of these people know how to get out of bed and put their clothes on in the morning.

But there was this one lady whose number was a few before mine and made it up to the counter several minutes ahead of me whose conversation I happened to hear vividly.

She goes up to the counter, baby in a diaper and t-shirt in tow (being carried notheless) -- and slaps both her paperwork down on the counter and the baby.

"Gimme one of the new license plates - I just paid my money to the county taxman," she says rudley as her baby leans over and starts playing with this and that on the counter which all belong to the DMV rep.

I thinking, "Lady, I would love to give you a one-way ticket back to Kindergarten so you can learn some manners."

Why do people think they can just go from day to day thinking that they're so entitled to this or that and get away with telling people to give them this or that, rather than politely asking for something?

I am big on manners in public. I admit there are times when I'm irritated or frustrated or just in a bad mood and I get a little short with people. I always feel bad about that afterwards. Unless they just had it coming to them for whatever reason they were being difficult in the first place....

But so many people are setting bad examples of how to act in public. So many people are raising rude children (If I ever find my future son or daughter on a bluetooth phone in public telling someone to give them something... well let's just say that's not going to happen in the first place)

And society in general isn't doing anything to address rudness in general. Mostly, anyway.

I was in the post office recently, waiting in line, and this woman goes up to the counter yakking away on her cell phone,. Before she's able to say anything to the worker behind the counter, said worker says, "Ma'm, we have a policy that we will not help customers who are on their cell phone. I guess you may have missed the sign right there (and she points to one) --- So if you would please step to the side and finish your phone conversation, we'll let you get back in line when you're done."

I came about half an inch from clapping. Instead I just grinned.

"Well that's just rude," the woman on the cell phone said as she walked away from the counter to continue her conversation.

Lady, do you want to be the pot or the kettle today?

What has happened? --- are the cell phone makers to blame? Is Ray Kroc to blame for allowing fast food service to serve as a catlyst for rudeness? We're going downhill in a way which it's getting more and more apparent that we're going to have to have a miracle to come back from.