Blog for Borders Blogburst

I've been quite neglectful about posting the links for the Blogs4Borders blogburst over the last few months. Between personal illness and work, I've barely kept my head above water.

However, I'm committed to keeping this issue in the forefront. And, it turns out that there's a podcast version available.

The Nearby Primaries

I live on the border of NC-SC, on the SC side. Most of our news comes from the Charlotte stations. So, for the last few months, we've been privy to the jockeying for favor the presidential candidates have been indulging in.

Today, I noticed a new Clinton ad. She appears, talking about the conversation she's having with voters. She "takes" a question about high gas prices - the picture of the voter, an under-40 white woman, is shown on the screen. In the ad, Clinton appears warm, thoughtful, and competent. It's going to be hard to beat Clinton in NC, unless there are a lot more Black voters than I thought there were.

I have seen comparatively few Obama ads. That may be due to the shows I watch, or the fact that I watch comparatively little TV.

I honestly can't say I have a clue who will win the Democratic nomination. A few weeks ago, I might have said Obama. But, after watching his various stumbles for the last month, Hillary suddenly looks like she's back in the game.

No matter which one gets the nomination, truthfully, hasn't it been enormously entertaining?

Obama - Fallen From Grace

It seems that the bloom is off the rose. Obama's adoring MSM fans are finally willing to report on his gaffes, and put him and his team to responsible levels of scrutiny.

From Mother Jones:



On the controversy over his characterizing small-town inhabitants in demeaning ways:



Re: "Typical White Person":



BTW, does anyone besides me think it's funny that the two leading Democrats are multi-millionaires, and the Republican "rich party" candidate is the comparative pauper in the mix?

Update on Posting

I've been snowed under at work and home. We're getting the taxes together this weekend, which will require copious amounts of alcohol once we're done.

We've been breaking in new equipment this week, the Vernier Lab Quest, a tool that allows us to collect data, display it in a graph or meter style (in color!), and send it to a computer for further writing and display (you can do some writing on the handheld device, but for major input, the computer is easier), and even print directly to an HP device.

I also learned to podcast. Looking forward to playing around with that more on the weekend.

Compared to the interest I have in my own life, politics seems boring - particularly the Democrat race - although the bickering is delightful. The fight is catty, petty, and seemingly designed to cause meltdown in the general election.

What more could I ask?

Podcasting Frenzy

I've been learning to podcast. I wrangled with the software and hardware for an inordinant time, and finally produced 2 short (30 seconds or so) little "broadcasts".

I'm hooked.

I use the Mac GarageBand, which, once you meander through the Help screens, is surprisingly easy to use. It's one of those applications that makes you look so much better than you really are.

I decided to start after buying an IPod Shuffle (the cheap little one), and finding that there are many, many free programs. I've been enjoying NASA, tech-related podcasts, and political shows.

I Really Love Jeopardy

I'm not in the same category as the 5-time champions, but I generally do well enough to feed my ego that I could, under the right circumstances (such as the other 2 are congenital idiots), actually win.

Then I see those contestants who know about geography, music, and architecture, and can calculate mentally on-the-fly, and come back to reality.

Didn't They Do This in 1968?

Ah, the smell of a backroom deal is in the air!

I just have the feeling that the trickiest and most unscrupulous candidate will win. I just don't know which of them qualifies.