Facie’s Ramblings

Either McCain's choice of Sarah Palin for veep is absolutely brilliant or it will sound the death knell (I think I mean knell, not knoll). I agree with many Obama supporters that McCain should not have talked about Obama's lack of experience and then turn around and pick a candidate with little experience herself; that could really hurt him. But I am not the only one who is not voting for Obama for a reason other than his inexperience. His views are just fundamentally different from mine (In fact, I took yet another quiz. Ron Paul got me 15 points, McCain and Bob Barr got me 8 and 7. And Obama, 0). Really, what makes a person qualified to be president? I would never vote for someone who had not held any office, but I am more turned off by someone who has a ton of experience, particularly someone who has been in Congress for decades. Of the two ( Obama and Palin ), neither is particularly qualified (though you could argue being a mayor and then governor is a more experienc...

This is what Jordan has said a few times, after having watched several Olympic events. She asked us if she was going to be in the Olympics when she got older, and I said probably not, but if she ended up being really good at a sport because she practiced, it was possible. At her birthday party last week while swimming, she kept telling people, "I am the Olympics," or "I want to be the Olympics." I tried to tell her she cannot be the Olympics, but we won't have to talk about this again for another four years (well, I guess two), so might as well let that go. After all, I never corrected Jordan when she called an umbrella a rainbrella. I thought it was cute and could not bear to see that go away, and she probably does not even remember ever having said rainbrella. She might still say upslide down, but whatever. Who knows what Jordan will be when she grows up, but now that she has started kindergarten, there is no turning back now. Lord knows I have not figured it...

I read an article in the P-G yesterday that said what I have been feeling for months. In a nutshell, those of us who bought homes that were no more than what we could afford, pay our mortgage and taxes on time, save money every month, and just live beneath our means in general are getting the shaft. I do feel sorry for people in bad situations, especially those who did not live above their means and unfortunately found themselves with, say, a medical condition and poor/no health insurance or out of work. But I have a lot trouble sympathizing with families who earn 30, 40, 50k a year, buy a 200k house, drive nice cars and take yearly beach vacations and then cry because they got in over their heads. I know someone who recently lost his job. He has blown through his savings as well as his retirement. I asked what he was going to do, until he finds another job, and he said he is hopeful it will work out. It is nice to have a good attitude; certainly worrying about it isn't going to ge...

This past weekend, I went to Diamond Days, which is a weekend-long event that takes place in the town where I grew up. Jordan and I have met my dad there for the past three or four years; he tends to travel up this way for DD since it coincides with Jordan's birthday (or at least it did up until this year). I always run into some people who still live there. But mostly it is just a nice time to walk around the booths and head over to the children's area. This year, as I did last year, I stopped by the medical van to get my blood pressure, body fat, and bone density tested. It did not start out well. The tester, who I am guessing had to be at least in his upper 70s, seemed not to know what he was doing. I was convinced, after about three minutes of his pumping up my arm, that my eyeballs were going to pop from my head and that my arm was going to burst. After all that, he tells me he could not get a read. I told him I was in so much pain, I might be dead, so maybe that was why. ...

I find myself drawn to the Olympics this year similarly as I was when I was younger. I don't think I caught a single event in the 2004 Olympics, and I am not sure why; I have always enjoyed the Olympics, and I have quite a few memories over the years. I remember the '84 Summer Olympics and the men's gymnastics team. I thought I was in love with Mitch Gaylord. Loved watching him on the rings. Bart was great. And that Mary Lou Retton was so cute and amazing. I remember the '88 Winter Olympics. Debbie Thomas was one of the favorites in figure skating, and I think she stumbled, to Katarina Witt perhaps. Debbie ended up with the bronze, and I grabbed my ice skates, walked down to the frozen lake at our lake house, and took a few novice spins on the ice, as some sort of a cathartic process/homage to Debbie. At PSU three or four years later, I took an ice skating PE, where I learned some basic moves. My love for ice skating goes back to Dorthy Hamil. I had the doll and somethi...

If I were not so lazy, I would have posted some pictures of the summer adventures we have had thus far. But doing so requires that I first download the pictures from my camera, which happens only a few times a year, not to mention I have no idea where the thingy is that connects from my camera to the computer, which allows said downloading (or is it file transferring?) to take place. If I had those pictures on my computer, you could have seen a boat ride, some picnics and get-togethers, birthday parties and a christening, days at the park and nights looking at starts, a trip to Idlewild, and the first day of Steelers training camp (still hope to get the pic up of me and Steely McBeam). Still to come are the community days at the town where I grew up, another afternoon in the Burgh, and Jordan's fifth birthday party. My kid is going to be 5 in just two weeks. How can that be? It seems like just yesterday when I was having contractions at work and my friend Q said it was probably gas...

For the second time in about six weeks, I drove past a group of people waving Obama signs, some of which read, "Honk for Obama." On this day, the peopled who probably numbered 20 or 30 were having a barbecue to help register voters and, of course, garner support for Obama. As I did when I drove past them the last time, I waved my fists in the air, which made the sign holders cheer. Jordan asked me why I did this, and I said, "These people really want this man to be the next president, and it makes them happy that I just did that." I could not honk my horn because I do not support Obama, but I do support these people and am glad for them, and envious, actually, that they are excited about their candidate. I wish I could be. The election is about three months away, and, once again, I do not want either of the top two candidates to be president. Several friends and relatives tell me if I vote for Ron Paul, who does stand for most of the things I believe in, I will be w...