NABLOPOMO

This is the last day of November, the last day for NaBloPoMo.

It was pretty optimistic to decide to do this knowing that I would be travelling during the month, but it seems to have worked out well.

I appreciate all my readers and especially all the comments.

I may or may not post less often in the near future, so keep coming back to check.

In the meantime, I think I will go down and hit another slot.

Quick Catch Up

Sunday - Arrived in Chicago, picked up Erika from her hotel, hung out in Chicago hit casino on the way to Mishawaka. Went out to dinner with the Zynda family (including Lyle's mom) and hit the hay early.

Monday - Went to work with Erika at IUSB, where she promptly placed me on a HUGE project and a couple of littler projects. All of which I thoroughly enjoyed and quickly accomplished (except the huge one is ongoing). Had a yummy lunch at my favoritest place ever - any guesses? That's right Long John Silvers!

Tuesday - Returned to work with E and had a nice lunch with Mrs. Zynda. Then it was time to hit the road on our way to Michigan. With of course a casino pit stop. A quick stop at Four Winds (Sue you were right, it is by far the best casino in the area!) and then up to Westland to see Gretchen and Gordon.

Wednesday - Sleeping in is always nice, then a yummy breakfast at Leo's Coney Island (really someone needs to open a franchise in LA) and a bunch of errands to run with E. Megan and Robin (not uneventfully but, I'll let G blog about that) arrive in the evening for a fabulous dinner of both spaghetti and pate chinois. Chocolate pie for dessert and off to dreamland.

to be continued..........

Black Friday

My goal for Black Friday is to not shop but to gamble my way from the red into the black.

Wish me luck!

Happy Thanksgiving

This is hard

I am having so much fun with my sisters that I forget to blog.

Erika and I spent 6 hours at a casino on Tuesday on our way up to Westland, and just kinda ran around doing errands and relaxing today.

Megan was brought down by Robin and we all enjoyed a yummy yummy dinner of bothe spaghetti and pate chinois. Gordon is an amazing cook and we are all looking forward bacon for breakfast and turkey for lunch.

And then guess where we're going? CASINO!

Travelling with Murphy

Murphy and I had a flight that was leaving at 12:20 am on Saturday night. I have known about this flight for months, heck I booked the damn thing. But by 9 pm that night was I packed all the way? Nope, still had stuff in the dryer even. At 9:30 I finished my packing and brought out the scale to weigh my suitcase. Dammit 64 lbs. I grabbed a bunch of stuff out and figured I had room to carry it on and got the weight down to 49.4 (or so I thought).

Kathy gets me to the airport by 10:30, I have plenty of time, all is good. I use the automated machine to check in my luggage (I printed my boarding pass at home the night before) and even get a chance to get a “premium extra charge” seat for NO extra charge. Feeling pleased and impressed I let the attendant know I was ready for him to take my luggage and up on the official scale it goes….WTF? 54 lbs! Are you kidding me? Who slipped something in my suitcase when I wasn’t looking? Attendant not so nicely reminds me the limit is 50lbs and tells me to remove something. I hate people like me so I quickly open up the suitcase, ascertain that removing my toiletries bag will do the trick (don’t get ahead of me here) and it fits snuggly into my second carryon. I get it to weigh 50lbs EXACTLY and Mr. Smuggy Pants, directs me to the security lane.

I have traveled plenty since 9/11, I have heard horror stories about security lines and yet have actually inwardly laughed at everyone’s stories because I have never had a problem. But when you travel with Murphy there is always a problem. The security line took almost a half an hour. By the time I got through and to the gate it was 11:45 and they were beginning to make announcements for boarding my flight. But let’s get back to the security line. I am very proficient at security, I wear easily removable shoes, I know how to run the laptop through (in it’s own bucket), I usually end up with 4 buckets with all my stuff. This time was no different, well it was though because remember that toiletries bag? Yep, it was full of shampoo, lotion, hair gel, all things I no longer own. I got pulled aside and they went through the bag and disposed of all of them. They did relent and let me keep the Bengay since it is medicinal.

I am so glad I got there as early as I did.

Murphy decided to stay in LA, on my first flight I was very comfortable in my Exit row seat, with so much leg room I didn’t even notice when the person in front of me put their seat back. And the ONLY empty seat on the plane? Yep right next to me! I was able to curl up or spread out, and actually slept for the majority of the flight, over 3 hours. The second flight was of course on the other side of the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport but I hightailed it and made it in the nick of time. I thought I was late because the waiting area was pretty empty. I heard the desk attendant tell the flight attendants as they were boarding that they had 415 passengers. I looked around me and thought there must be another flight coming in cuz there isn’t 415 people here. We boarded and I found my teeny tiny seat and got buckled in and as comfortable as possible. A few more people trickled in. AND THEN THEY CLOSED THE DOOR! The 415 turned out to be 4/15 4 first class 15 coach! 15 people on my flight! I asked the attendant if I could move and she approved so I jumped into the empty exit row, flipped up all the armrests and laid down to go back to sleep! Unfortunately this was a fairly short flight but the nap was nice.

I arrived in Chicago more than a half hour early ready and rarin’ to go. Well, maybe not as ready as I thought. Let’s backtrack a little. Remember when I changed my seat at the very beginning? I had to get a new boarding pass for that and relinquish my old one (yep that’s when Murphy was still around). When I got to Chicago, I realized that my rental car reservation paperwork was with the relinquished boarding pass and I had NO clue which company I rented from. I tried calling my sister, you know, the one who says “Call me when you land!” Yeah that one, the one who didn’t answer her phone the 6 times I called her. I found a courtesy phone and proceeded to call all of the rental car companies and explain my plight and they all very nicely declined my reservation until the 5th one finally Budget had me listed. I get my beautiful Ford Escape (that’s a whole ‘nother post) and head out on my way.

I have by now finally reached my sleepyhead sister and have the directions from the airport to her hotel (she and Lyle stayed in the city overnight). Unfortunately there was no hotel name on the directions and I guess our illustrious President Elect was going to be in the city because all available street parking was filled with police cars. After circling the block multiple times, I decided to pay the piper and valet at the hotel.

Breakfast was beyond yummy, not just because by now I was starving but it was really good. I didn’t catch the name of the restaurant but it is attached to the Club Quarters hotel. Lyle went off on his own adventure to a record store (I swear he and Adam are more related than just by marriage) and Erika and I headed off on our own.

(to be continued)

What party?

Even though I had to work on Saturday, Caity thought it would be ok to still have her bday party. Here is what I (and you) missed.

Opening Statement

I am traveling today, so I leave you with this eloquent opening statement from Congressman Thadeus McCotter representing Michigan's 11th District. Please give yourself 8 and a half minutes to listen.

This is what 3 looks like

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAITY BEAR

Mirror Images

Do I think others are not sincere in their compliments because I am not always sincere in mine?

Do I think everyone is thinking criticaly of me, because I think critically of them?

Do I always assume others are talking about me behind my back, because I talk about others?

Have you looked in the mirror lately?

Social Media

I mention Twitter and my online community often and some of you may not be aware of what they are or what they entail. It is the world of Social Media. It is a way of communicating with the world in real time. It is also becoming a way for big business to start communicating with the world. through Twitter and Facebook and FriendFeed, I have been involved with Ford, GM, Motrin, HP and countless other companies providing feedback, reviews and general interaction.

Gary Vaynerchuk, is a wine connosieur (or whatever you call it, I don't drink, sorry, Gary). He also is a Soial Media expert. The video below (which I first saw on Technosailor.com) helps to explain how the old age of business can bring itself into the new age of social media. Enjoy.

American Dream

What is your definition of the "American Dream"?

I saw a lottery winner on tv the other day and he said "Now I can start living the American Dream."

Is the American Dream just to have a lot of money? Is it to have a big house and lots of cars and not working and just having things? Is Paris Hilton living the American Dream?

I grew up in a Middle Class home (single parent of 5), we had a house, a car, we never "wanted" for anything (except for non-necessaties just to keep up with the Fritz's). But I really think my mom had the American Dream. She was a hard working woman, who made her own way in the world, she saved her well earned money and invested in her future. She owned her own home, she raised her family (quite well, I might add), sent all of her children to parochial school and when she was ready, she was able to retire on her terms. After retirement she did quite a bit of travel both domestic and abroad.

The American Dream is what I think of when I think about what is going on with the Auto Industry right now. There are hundreds of thousands of folks trying to live the American Dream in Michigan, but for circumstances beyond their control, it may all come to an end.

I don't think of the Auto Industry going to the Government for a loan right now as a Bailout. It is a loan. It is not the first time it has happened.

From ProRublica:

In 1979 Chrysler suffered a loss of $1.1 billion. That year the corporation requested aid from the government. In 1980 the Chrysler Loan Guarantee Act was passed, which provided $1.5 billion in loans to rescue Chrysler from insolvency. In addition, the government's aid was to be matched by U.S. and foreign banks.

By 1983, seven years earlier than the scheduled deadline, Chrysler had paid back its loan with the aid of the guarantees from the U.S. government. The corporation bought back the 14.4 million stock warrants. A security entitling the holder to buy a proportionate amount of stock at some specified future date at a specified price, usually one higher than current market. This "warrant" is then traded as a security, the price of which reflects the value of the underlying stock. Warrants are usually issued as a "sweetener" bundled with another class of security to enhance the marketability of the latter. Warrants are like call options, but with much longer time spans -- sometimes years. (Washington Post) given to the government in exchange for the loan guarantee. Because Chrysler's finances had improved and its stock had bounced back -- it reported $1.7 billion in profits for the second quarter of 1984 -- the government netted a profit of more than $660 million from its bailout investment.

Can anyone reading this say they have never needed a loan? A bailout if you will? Did you take out a loan to go to college? To buy your car? Your house? Shit happens and sometimes you need someone to come by and give you a hand.

Am I biased because my roots are in Detroit and in the Auto Industry. Possibly. Am I treating this completely differently than I thought of the Wall Street Bailout (or Rescue)? Yes I am. As far as I know at right this moment, the Big 3 have not sent their highly paid executives on a multi-million dollar retreat recently. Do I think the Wall Street Bailout could have been handled differently? Oh boy do I ever! I think instead of giving a hand out to the banks to loan out even more money, I think the Government should have made one payment on each of the outstanding loans. That would have helped Main Street and got Wall Street a little lift as well. Grassroots. That's where things begin, you have to start from the bottom and let things grow, not start from the top and let shit roll down hill.

Back to the Big 3. There are many reasons given why people are leery of buying American cars. Taj refuses, he thinks they are completely unreliable and will not last half as long as a Foreign made car. @GoDOTchris watched her Honda Civic reach 200,000 miles this week. That is quite a feat. But it happen in Ford's and Chevy's as well. When are we going to stop looking elsewhere, for the cheaper or better? And start finding a way to make cheaper and better here? This is not the first time an American industry has been threatened.

From Wiz Bang Blue:

The American television industry ran into similar problems as well with better and stronger and more innovative foreign competition from Japan, where American brands like Magnavox, Emerson, General Electric, RCA, Quasar and Zenith all failed. While RCA was purchased by an European company, Zenith continued as the final holdout in the American television industry until they owed so much money to a South Korean bank to finance their losses in business that they were taken over by the bank and became a South Korean brand, and no American television brands exist today.

Is that where we want to head with the Auto Industry? What is left in America that we manufacture? Are Levi's the sole holdout?

What do I think should happen with the Auto Industry, well, I don't know for certain. I know that whatever happens, there needs to be something that forces them into the 21 century here in the US. There are many more Hybrid and alternative fuel cars made by the Big 3 that are sold overseas. They need to bring them here. If there is a loan made, there need to be terms and concessions from both the Industry and the Unions.

When you have a family member in trouble, do you not rush to their aid? I do and I know my family does. And when you broaden your perspective aren't all Americans family?

Tell me what is your idea of the American Dream?

Added Wednesday after posting:
Before you get your panties in a bunch over the Ford CEO travelling to Washington in the company jet, chill your jets. On page 46 of the Ford 2008 Proxy Statement (from the shareholders meeting) it clearly states:

Perquisites and Other Benefits (page 46)

We provided certain perquisites and other benefits to senior management in 2007, the most significant of which are summarized below. The Committee periodically reviews our policies on officer perquisites.

Company Aircraft: During 2007, Mr. Mulally was required to use our aircraft for all business and personal air travel for security reasons. The family and guests of Mr. Mulally were allowed to accompany him on our aircraft. In addition, in order to ease the burden of Mr. Mulally moving to Southeast Michigan and away from his family in Seattle, Washington, the Compensation Committee clarified that his arrangement covers travel by his wife, children, and guests on Company aircraft for personal reasons without him at Company expense, at his request. Except for the Executive Chairman, no other executive is permitted to use our aircraft for personal reasons. In addition, for retention purposes the Company pays the costs, including first class commercial airfare, for personal travel for Mr. Fields to and from his home in Florida. The Company continues to provide tax relief as a result of the imputed income associated with Mr. Fields’ arrangement. We believe the cost to the Company in providing this relief is significantly outweighed by the security and retention benefits we receive.
The incremental cost for personal use of Company aircraft, including our valuation methodology for such use, isincluded in column (i) of the Summary Compensation Table on p. 50 and footnote 5 on pp. 51-52.

I'm proud to announce the inaugural Glendale Educational Foundation eBay charitable auction site is up and running! Our eBay site hit the air Saturday at 10 a.m. and has been a bee-hive of activity since! Come join the fun and bid on an outstanding collection of donations from our community while helping to raise funds for Hoover High School.

You will find a wonderful assortment of items for sale. Choose from an eight hour recording studio session at a renowned Hollywood sound stage, gift certificates from local merchants, restaurant meals, sports memorabilia, Hollywood memorabilia, electronic gadgets, books signed by authors, works of local artists, photo portraits, lunch with local dignitaries, Hoover High School swag, golf outings, tickets to - sporting events, the theatre, amusement parks, museums and much much more!

Just click on the following link Hoover Auction.

Thanks again for your support and involvement,

Breakfast

Every Sunday morning I enjoy breakfast with some friends at the local Bob's Big Boy. I enjoy their buffet and like being able to read my Sunday paper in peace and leave it there for others. I am usually up by 8:30 and out the door by 9ish.

This Sunday, I awoke late and lazed about checking emails and Twitter and such, and wondering why even tho I knew I was late, I didn't rush to leave. I knew the friends I usually see there would be gone by the time I got there, but still I took my sweet time. Around 10:30 I finally got the urge to shower and leave.

I get to the restaurant and of course all my regulars are either leaving or have left. But I continue in to read my paper and enjoy my breakfast. After getting myself settled in, I hear behind me a family being seated and opening up their newspaper. You can hear an audible gasp and the a woman saying "That one, that's where our house was" as she points to this picture in the LA Times.

picture of the Oakridge Mobile Home Park - from L.A.Times

It was then that I knew why I was late. I surreptitiously eavesdropped on their conversation, hearing woes and worries about not only themselves but their neighbors and friends who may not have made it out.

When I left, my breakfast was much more expensive this week than others, but I hope my small little gesture, makes their burden a tiny bit easier.

Twittering the Fires

The past 36 hours have been spent in s smoky haze, literally:

@Dreamented lost his house to the Sylmar fire

@Sweatpantsmom finally got her elderly Father in Law to agree to evacuate his home at 2am Friday night as Palm Trees were lit like candle sticks on his street.

@Queenofspain is packed and ready to go just in case.

@Socalmom has evacuated for the second time in a month.

@GoDOTchris and @Onetake evacuated as soon as their exit ramp was closed, they weren't taking any chances.

Many many others have been adversly affected by these horrible fires. It has been nice to have an online community to commiserate with during this catastrophe.

Bellabands

Marisa (in case you didn't know) is expecting twins in February. Her belly has grown larger, quicker. Which I guess is to be expected. One day she looked the same and the next BAM there's a belly there. And she seems to be carrying pretty low.

With the sudden growth her shirts weren't quite covering all they should and her maternity pants were few with new ones being quite expensive. So I was looking into how I could help her out. I checked ebay for maternity pants, but sizing is iffy when you are pregnant and I am not willing to spend on something I can't return. then I noticed one of my Twitter friends @Supermomz had a website selling maternity stuff. One item in particular was the Bella Band. I mentioned this to Marisa and she says "Yeah, some place in North Hollywood sells them, but when I went there they said they were internet only". Me: "Uh, would that be Supermomz?" Marisa: "Yeah". So I explained the situation to her and immediately placed an order. I emailed Julie asking for special delivery sevice (as in Marisa would drive over there and pick them up) and was gratiously obliged.

The description above says it completely it is perfect for the not quite ready for maternity clothes, to the nothing will cover this damn belly, to the not quite ready for regular clothes again.

Marisa also finds it helps her feel more supported with her belly being fairly low riding and heavy with both babies (who are both at term weight and doing well). She did have a bit of a problem because she was wearing it upside down for the first couple of days. But once she figured it out all was well.

Exit Polls and Polls in General

I am a good person to call if you are taking a poll. I will usually answer all of your questions honestly and concisely. And I think general polls are a good thing, as I have mentioned here before, if I don't tell them how I like something, how will they know to do it my way?

But the polls I think that should be abolished are the ones done during an election. I mean c'mon we all know what liars people are especially during an election. You know that whomever is calling to ask who you are voting for has your party affiliation in front of them so of course you are going to say your party's candidate for fear of the polling police coming to snag you for voting against your party.

And then there is the whole "racism" aspect of this year's election. Would a Dem who wasn't going to vote for Obama be considered racist if he/she said so? Would a Rep who wanted to vote for Obama but didn't want his/her friends to know admit it to anyone? So you see polls during the election are screwy.

Exit Polls are the same way if not worse. Your vote is your business. It should be illegal to ask someone who they voted for. If for no other reason than that they are unaffective and inconsiderate.

According to Time magazine the first Exit Poll was done for CBS in 1967. 1993 AP and major networks join to create the Voters News Service to conduct the Exit Polls and disseminate the information to everyone a the same time. In 2000 we saw how effective the Exit Polls were when the networks first called the Presidential race for Gore, then for Bush and then for an unprecedented "neither". In 2002 the VNS computers break down on election day and the VNS is disbanded the following year. So now it is a free for all with everyone getting and disseminating their information at their own pace. Beginning in 2004 the "pollsters" are now confined to a room in New York City with no internet or cell phone acess until 5pm est.

What really bothers me the most regarding Exit Polls is the same as someone online talking about a show I can't watch for another 3 hours. If you read Kathy's post you know we had a great turnout at our polling place this year. But I think it could have been even better. According to People Magazine the race was pretty much called by 10pm EST. But the parties waited to make their speeches until after the West Coast polls closed at 11pm EST. But that didn't stop the news organizations. We in the polling place (unbeknowst to the constituents coming in to vote) knew long before the polls closed what the outcome was. And so, I think did our voters.

Our great turnout all happened before lunch. After that voting dwindled. With results starting to be reported from the East Coast, apathy again began to set in. It leads to the thought that "my vote doesn't count". Unfortunately, by the dinner hour, voters were scarce to come by at our polling place and between the hour of 7 and 8 they were even more invisible.

California had many important issues on the ballot this year, and I think because of the Presidential race being called so early, that a lot of people didn't bother coming to the polls. And what about Alaska and Hawaii, really what incentive is there if the results are announce hours before they close their polls?

I am not one to bitch and moan without thinking through a problem and trying to find a solution. So here are my two cents, for what they are worth.

Universal polling times. All polls across the country open and close at the same time. Unfeasible? Maybe, but it could be done.

Gag order. How about the counties count their votes and put them into a sealed envelope and DONT TELL the news organizations until all polls are closed? No one knows anything until ALL the votes have been counted. For that matter not until the vote by mails are counted as well. Will it kill everyone to have to wait 24-48 hours for results?

Maybe it is me being idealistic, maybe in a perfect world we can figure this out, maybe in another 200 years our democracy will work itself out.

What do you think?

Blank Slate

I have a list of topics that I want to write about, but I just can't bring myself to do it.

I have garnered ideas from others posts, but I want to be more original than that.

I have a great video from Keith Olberman speaking out about Prop 8, but it is long and I fear most of you won't watch it in it's entireity.

I have photos of Caity and Link's new haircut, but you can just see them over in the sidebar anytime you want.

Heavens, I could go on and on about Governor Palin and the blunders she continues to make. But your all tired of hearing about her and if we continue to talk about her she will continue to think she is important.

I could update you about my aches and pains, but really do you want to hear me whine?

So I guess what I am trying to say is that I have nothing to say today.

Baking Gals Round 4

Once again I hosted an Operatin Baking Gals round. But this time I had a bit of a connection with the soldier we were shipping to. A few years ago I belonged to an online gaming community that played DOminoes. It was through Yahoo and called the Fishtank. We had tournaments and I would play throughout the day (that was when the whole debacle with my former employer first started and I was being paid to sit home and do nothing). I drifted away from there but "met" up with one of the people that ran the league earlier this year on Twitter. Nutzareus was the name he used on the league and I immediately recognized it when I saw it on Twitter. He would Tweet about his time in Iraq and the work he was doing on the supply base.

Unfortunately this round I didn't have as many in my group as last round, but I still think we did pretty well with what we sent.

I sent peanutbutter cookies with hersey kisses
Betsey from Food For Five sent Blondies and a bunch of goodies.
Sue from Stanley Cupcakes sent Snickerdoodles Espresso Nutella Cookies and Chocolate Sugar Cookies. She also included books and dvd's in her box.
Beth from Someone's in the Kitchen With Brina sent Granola Grabbers, Snickerdoodles and Mandel Bread.

I will be unable to host in the next round as I will be travelling during the prep time. But I will definately be aprticipating when I get back.

Widget

I'm Going!

WANNA JOIN ME?

It's All Mom's Fault

My bedroom is a mess!

There are clothes in baskets waiting to be hung up.

There are clothes on the floor waiting to be laundered (so they too can wait in baskets).

There are papers and books and stuff on the other half of the bed (I sleep alone in a King).

There are Caitlyn toys and clothes and paraphenalia everywhere.

It used to be whenever mom would come visit my room would get an overhaul and be prettied up for her to stay with me in.

But she hasn't been to visit in a very long time. And so my room is a mess.

8 Places to Live

Hilda over at the Mind Wobbles had this Meme going and I joined in.

Here are the instructions, copied from Hilda who copied them from DIxie...

"McCain has 8 homes in the U.S I thought it was 13 but whatevs. You have to pick eight places you would like to live. List them. You don’t have to list your reasons, but if you do at least for a few of them, it would be more fun. And remember that the only rule is: the homes must be within the borders of the United States of America or else, within the borders of the country you live in, so as to utterly emulate the McCains."

I'll add the usual, let me know in my Comments if you're participating...

1. Las Vegas - I would love to have a home there to host my family when they visit.

2. Detroit(ish) - Don't think I am ready to move back into the inner city, but it would be nice to have a place there, again close to family.

3. Chicago(ish) - Have I mentioned I would want my homes near family members?

4. Denver - I fell in love with this city when we visited a few years ago. It seems to have it all - all the seasons, good sports venues, great culture. And it is smack dab (ish) in the middle of the country for the family to come visit me.

5. Santa Diego - I need a coastal home (don't we all?) and it is a toss up between Santa Barbara and San Diego. I chose San Diego because of the many things to do when family comes to visit.

6. New York - The hustle, the bustle, I would like to be a part of it, just not all the time.

7. Montreal - Actually, I couldn't decide between, Montreal, VanCouver or Toronto, so I went with the family theme and chose Montreal.

8. An RV around the country - I have always dreamed of driving around to all the baseball stadiums in the country.

Guest Post from Hoover Rocks!

Hi everyone,

Our donation drive for the Glendale Educational Foundation eBay online charitable auction is over. We have a vast array of donations from throughout the Glendale Community. Our auction will feature gift certificates to local (and national)merchants, theatre tickets, sporting event tickets, sports memorabilia, works of art, dance classes, gymnastics classes, books signed by authors, restaurant meals, lunch with dignitaries, electronic gadgets, rounds of golf, sporting equipment, Hollywood memorabilia, health and beauty aids, kids birthday parties at fun venues, clothing, voice classes, instructional DVD's, tickets to museums, portraits and much much more!
Thanks for all of your donations and your support. We will prepare these donations for eBay listing this week. Thanks to those who have turned in their donations and completed the donation forms. All outstanding donations and forms are due now.
Our auction is being advertised in the Glendale News Press and throughout the Hoover community. We expect the excitement to grow and hope you join us at: myworld.ebay.com/GlendaleEducationalFoundation. Our auction starts on Saturday November 15 and lasts one week until the 22nd. Join the fun and remember to bid high and bid often!

Bookmark: http://myworld.ebay.com/glendaleeducationalfoundation

Behind Schedule

The posts from the last few days were all written ahead of time and scheduled to post. This one however wasn't. I wrote one in my head at the Chriopractor's office this morning but don't have time to type it. So for today I will leave you with just this.

In Sync

When I reviewed the Ford cars earlier this year I didn't do justice to the Sync in all of the vehicles. this old school video takes New Media to a new height and gives an awesome representation of the Sync.

How I Voted and Why

I know that voting is a private matter and how you vote is your own business. I have had some ask my opinion on certain propositions here in California and save one (can you guess which one?) I have tried to be non-partisian in my understanding and explanation. But now that the vote has come and gone and the results are probably in (I am typing this on Monday evening in the anticipation I will be too dang tired from 16 hours at the polls on Tuesday).

President and Vice President:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden - I believe that Obama and Biden will be the team to bring the country out of the state it is in. I believe that throuhg their election we can stop being red states and blue states and go back to being the United States.

U.S. Representative:
Adam Schiff - I have known Adam for quite some time on a personal level and have agreed with most everything he has done in his last term.

State Senate
Carol Liu - As the Assemblymember of a neighboring area, I have seen good things done up there and agree with the endorsement of her predecessor Jack Scott.

Assemblymemer:
Paul Krekorian - I voted for him in 2006 and continue to support him.

Judicial:
this one all decisions were based upon the advice of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and my in house attorney.

State Measures:

1A High Speed Rail - YES, completely selfish reasons, I want to be able to get to San Francisco in 2 hours without flying. I know it may be a teensy bit fiscally irresponsible and probably not pass in the wake of the financial crisis that California is in. But my vote is not based on popular opinion it is solely based on my opinion.

2 Confining Farm Animals - YES, again probably not the most fiscally responsible decision (stop screaming at your computer Kathy), but something about we shouldn't HAVE to say treat the damn animals nicely before you kill em! No I'm not going to go vegetarian because I CARE about the health and well being of animals, but you see the dairy council put out commercials about "Happy Cows" and then you see the actualy treatment of them. It is sickening! I will pay a penny more per egg.

3 Children's Hospital Bond Act - YES, really are you going to vote against Children's Hospital?

4 Waiting period and parental consent - NO, I would hope in a perfect world everyone could talk to their parents about everything, but the world we live in today is not perfect.

5 Non Violent Drug Offenders - NO, I don't want the judicial hands tied as to how they can or can not sentence someone who is a drug offender. Rehab is good but sometimes it isn't enough.

6 Police Funding - YES, again are you gonna vote against Police funding?

7 Renewable Energy - NO, this decision was based on the representation form the Sierra Club and other proponents who stated while this was a good idea, it is poorly written and needs more working to get it right.

8 Constitutional Amendment - NO, no one should be discriminated for ANY reason. Marriage has absolutely NOTHING to do with your religious beliefs. A church can not legally marry two people. Your preacher or priest or with doctor can pronounce you man and wife all night long and twice on Sunday but it don't mean diddly squat without the liscense from the state. And the state should not be deciding who can and can not love each other. Should we decide that blacks can not marry whties? That Dodger Fans can not marry Angels Fans? Take that entire initiative and change the word gay to Black and you have just stepped right back in the 50's. Are you comfortable with that?

9 Victim's Rights - YES, I believe a victim should be involved or at the very least be made aware of parole statuses and releases.

10 Alternative Fuel - YES, again this is based on the recommendation of the Sierra Club et. al.

11 Redistricting - YES, this one was tough, but after listening to some of the explanations of how the committes would be formed (by way of a jury pooling with equal numbers from all parties including non-partisans and committee members can have never held or run for public office), I think it may turn out to be a good idea.

12 Veterans Bond Act - YES, really? you're going to vote against Veterans also? Shame on you! Not me, no siree, give em anything they want. If it comes down to everyone has to take in a Vet for a month, sign me up. (BTW Baking Gals boxes went out this week!)

R Traffic Relief - YES, have you sat in traffic in LA?

So that is it for me. Based on what you know now, how did I do? Do we agree or disagree? DOesn't matter I still love you and I hope you feel the same about me!

VOTE VOTE VOTE

Kathy and I are working the Polls all day today. The lines will be long the day will be long, hopefully everyone's patience will be long as well.

My Vote Doesn't Count

I am tired of listening to people say their vote doesn't count. That the Electoral College chooses the President no matter what the popular vote is. It is balderdash!

Yes the Electoral College determines the Presidency, but do you really know how that works? Other than what you learned in high school?

We saw in 2000 Al Gore win the popular vote but George Bush win the election. Just like in the Primaries where one candidate receives a certain number of delegates based on the voting percentage, that is how the electoral college works, sort of. If you "win" the state, you win their electoral votes. And unlike all men, all states are not created equal, they are each assigned a certain number of electoral votes as per Wikipedia: "Each state has a number of electors equivalent to its total Congressional representation (in both houses), with the non-state District of Columbia receiving three electors and other non-state territories having no electors."

That being said, it all breaks down to simple math. I know "I HATE MATH"! Not me, mon petit, I lurv math!

So, in order for your candidate to win your state YOU have to go vote for him/her! It really is that simple. To put it in even simpler terms, the difference in Florida in 2000 was 537 votes. 537, is an unimaginably low number. Can you imagine if 538 more people had decided to vote that day and voted for Gore? Our world would be entirely different, yes our World not just our Nation! Are you one of the 538 that didn't vote?

Do you still think your vote doesn't count?

I have been very vocal this election. Mainly because I truly thought for a long time that my vote wouldn't count. I would cast it that was not the question, but the events in my life lately have led me to believe that my vote would be legally disenfranchised.

Just last week I found out that wasn't the case, that my circumstance did not warrant disenfrachisement. I can not tell you how long I cried knowing that my vote would count. That my voice would not be squashed. That I can exercise my right and privilege to cast my vote for our next President.

I can not say it loud enough or often enough. I don't care who you vote for, that is your personal opinion. But I do care that you VOTE!

Cross posted at BlogHer

We Have a Winner!

Davina of Toddler Tailoring!

Go check out all the wonderful hand made infant and toddler creations she has available on her site. I may have to restrain myself!

Congratulations Davina!

NABLOPOMO

I have joined the NAtional BLOg POsting MOnth. For the entire month of November I will post once a day. There is no prize if I do and no consequence if I don't, other than the ridicule from you my readers.

So this is day 1, post 1.


See that was easy!