Personal news, commentary and ramblings
If you want up-to-date info without having to watch TV, here’s some great sites for monitoring the presidential electoral college:
Distance: 4.8 miles
Riding time: 32 minutes
Max speed: 23.8 mph
Average speed: 9.0 mph
Temperature: 64º
Continue reading “Morning Bike Ride”
Since 1998 Oregon has conducted all of their elections by mail. Registered voters receive their ballots in the mail a couple of weeks before the election and complete them at their leisure. You can mail them back if you finish them soon enough. Otherwise, you can drop them at any of the many drop boxes scattered throughout the city. Sunday night Tina and I sat down at our kitchen table and voted in the comfort of our home. We had done virtually no research prior to filling out our ballots so it took us about an hour. There were a number of ballot initiatives to wade through but the state sends booklets describing each of them as well as all of the candidates. Even though it was a little bit of work, after we were done we felt like worthy citizens.
I realize that most of my readers are probably not as enthusiastic about the political process as I am during this election cycle. Under that assumption, I’ve tried to limit the amount of political content so as not to drive my readership away. Election coverage is reaching a fever pitch and I’m soaking it all in. I know it’s been said a million times, but this election feels more important and more historic than any other in my lifetime. Watching the campaign retrospectives this weekend, I’ve been teary-eyed several times revisiting some of the more inspirational moments from the campaign. When that happens, I feel compelled to share it with you. If you’re not as enthusiastic as I am about the waning days of the campaign, I apologize for the increase in political content during the next few days.
Rachel Maddow makes a good argument here and a great appeal at the end.
We received our ballots in the mail over a week ago but I still haven’t opened mine. The primary reason for this is that I’m not sure how to vote for the U.S. Senate race between Gordon Smith and Jeff Merkley. I’m not a huge fan of Smith (and I seem to remember some pretty nasty campaign tactics when he ran against Ron Wyden in his first Senate race) but I have a huge respect for his early opposition to the Iraq War. Oregon Senators have been centrists as long as I have lived here and most consider Smith to fit that description. I don’t know much about Merkley other than the first Senate debate I watched between him and Smith. Merkley came across as a hack Democrat who fits all the liberal stereotypes and is riding on the coattails of Barack Obama. From what I understand, both have waged an incredibly negative television campaign but I have been spared from that by the grace of Tivo.
Bike odometer: 2510
Van odometer: 154218
Weight lost (in pounds): 1
Aches & pains: post-nasal drip (remnants of cold)
Current reading: My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk, Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy, Cross-platform GUI Programming with wxWidgets
Recent listening: R.E.M., NPR Story of the Day, Science Friday, The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Box), This American Life
Recent viewing: Countdown, The Rachel Maddow Show, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report
Recent playing: Chain Factor, GlueFO
Recently accomplished: Blackberry removal, cleaned cat boxes, hazardous waste recycling, apple/pear pickup, garage cleanup & organization, apple & cider delivery
Imperative To Do: Get rid of office junk, vote, freecycle, activate new Tivo, oil change for van, clean garage, office organization, get rid of MacRenewal Macs, trim bushes, pull blackberries, foam recycling
