Friday, June 12, 2009
Sad (Missing History)
Well, because of a computer glitch I've evidently been getting the History International channel for free. A few days ago it went away. I called to find out why and they want to to buy a more expensive package... Oh well.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Working the Election
The Democratic Primary was yesterday in Virginia. This morning I tore the Brian Moran bumper sticker off my car. He came in third out of the three candidates for the Democratic nomination for governor in Virginia. Now I have to find a Deeds bumper sticker...
Of course the real race was the one for our Board of Supervisors seat (County Commission, in most states). No incumbent. Three candidates. Tom Childress has been active in the district's Democratic Party as local chair since the 1970's. Robert "Spot" Steele served previously on the school board and tried to take the seat away from a sitting board member in the caucus process a couple of years ago. Davy Woodard is a sitting member of the School Board.
I picked up voting machines on Monday after work. Monday was my last day of the year as a teacher. Other teachers worked Tuesday; I took a personal day. I got to the polls just after 5am. We set up the machines and looked at the new computer-based poll books. All the voter records are on laptops now instead of in big computer printouts. It worked marvelously and I spent the day with two other very pleasant poll workers - waiting for voters to straggle in. Not many did.
Tom is easily the most qualified person on paper. He came in third, despite being well organized and having workers out at the crack of dawn at the poling precincts.
Spot and his wife, Rene', manage a mission that provides food and other items for needy people in the county. That provided for the appearance of conflict of interest (or something like it) in the caucus process a couple of years ago. There's some overlap between those who vote for him and those who are served by the mission.
Davy's a nice guy without much political experience.
Tom and Spot had signs and people at the polls. Davy won by six votes.
Voter turn out was just the other side of pitiful. In my precinct, 51 of the 778 registered voters turned out. My precinct was strong for Spot in past elections. If 10 more people had made it to the polls in Adria, Spot would have won the election by a vote or two.
And people feel like their vote doesn't really matter...
Of course the real race was the one for our Board of Supervisors seat (County Commission, in most states). No incumbent. Three candidates. Tom Childress has been active in the district's Democratic Party as local chair since the 1970's. Robert "Spot" Steele served previously on the school board and tried to take the seat away from a sitting board member in the caucus process a couple of years ago. Davy Woodard is a sitting member of the School Board.
I picked up voting machines on Monday after work. Monday was my last day of the year as a teacher. Other teachers worked Tuesday; I took a personal day. I got to the polls just after 5am. We set up the machines and looked at the new computer-based poll books. All the voter records are on laptops now instead of in big computer printouts. It worked marvelously and I spent the day with two other very pleasant poll workers - waiting for voters to straggle in. Not many did.
Tom is easily the most qualified person on paper. He came in third, despite being well organized and having workers out at the crack of dawn at the poling precincts.
Spot and his wife, Rene', manage a mission that provides food and other items for needy people in the county. That provided for the appearance of conflict of interest (or something like it) in the caucus process a couple of years ago. There's some overlap between those who vote for him and those who are served by the mission.
Davy's a nice guy without much political experience.
Tom and Spot had signs and people at the polls. Davy won by six votes.
Voter turn out was just the other side of pitiful. In my precinct, 51 of the 778 registered voters turned out. My precinct was strong for Spot in past elections. If 10 more people had made it to the polls in Adria, Spot would have won the election by a vote or two.
And people feel like their vote doesn't really matter...
Monday, June 8, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Tree Swallows - Day Eleven (and a bluebird egg)
I wasn't home to take pictures on Thursday and Friday. Cheryl took these two for me on day nine:
Here are pictures for today, day 11 in the life of the baby tree swallows...
The bluebird house has a nest in it again. You'll recall that our bluebirds abandoned a clutch of four eggs in May after a cold snap. We now have one egg again.
Here are pictures for today, day 11 in the life of the baby tree swallows...
The bluebird house has a nest in it again. You'll recall that our bluebirds abandoned a clutch of four eggs in May after a cold snap. We now have one egg again.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Things I Did Today...
In more or less chronological order...
Made a decision - to not go to Church. Cheryl woke me about 8:30am and asked it I wanted to go today. We’re kind of between churches. There's a small church nearby that we've been to a few times. We'll probably go back. Just not today...
Got up. About 9am.
Had some coffee and checked my email. Cleaned out my Google Reader.
Wrote an entry for Guuki.
Cooked breakfast: sausage, eggs & cheese, grits, toast, some leftover bacon. Biscuits and sausage gravy for Cheryl. Wished I had tomatoes, but we just set those out last weekend...
Wrote and published an entry for my education blog on Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's activities this past week. Wrote a second entry that will drip onto my ed blog later this week.
Cleaned out by Google Reader. Drank more coffee.
Created a Twitter background for my profile page.
Washed the breakfast dishes.
Listed to the stuff they do on the Speed Channel before the pre-race show comes on for NASCAR while I did other stuff.
Took pictures of the baby tree swallows. They've been alive five days now. Not much difference from yesterday. Waiting for the eyes to open.
Figured out (finally) how to download a video off of YouTube for later use. Since YouTube is blocked at school, this is a very useful skill. I downloaded a handful of potentially useful videos on social networking, social media, and Twitter for a presentation I may get to do this summer.
Listened to (and, intermittently, actually watched portions of) the Autism Speaks 400, today's NASCAR race in Dover. Wanted Kyle Busch to win, but I think he can in some place near 20th...
Cooked dinner: grilled steaks (sirloin, on sale for $2.99 a pound). I rubbed the meat with garlic powder and salt; mine also got some red pepper and curry powder. Baked potatoes, green beans, and part of a cucumber.
Watched the end of the race.
Took a 90-minute nap. (My dog also took a 90-minute, curled up in the small of my back...)
Cleaned out my Google Reader. Drank some green tea I brewed myself yesterday and put in the fridge.
Worked on a Guuki entry.
Did the dinner dishes. Fixed the coffeepot for in the morning.
Ironed tomorrow's cloths.
Fixed breakfasts and lunches to take to work tomorrow: Cheryl has mashed potatoes and meatballs (with a sauce made from Concord grape jelly and chili sauce), plus cottage cheese and blueberries for breakfast. I have a sausage muffin w/ egg and cheese to heat in the morning and a mix of rice, lentils, and peas in a butter & curry sauce with onions and some beef, along with some wilted spinach in bacon grease. (I know, my arteries...)
Turned off the TV.
Had a glass of Burgundy while I listened to Yo-Yo Ma and blogged. Purchased a couple of new Yo-Yo Ma pieces from iTunes.
Went outside and sat on the deck breifly. Cheryl went to bed a while back. There are lightening bugs. I saw my first ones for the year last night. Wondered when the screech owl will arrive.
Now considering going to bed early, but I will probably resist the temptation.
Made a decision - to not go to Church. Cheryl woke me about 8:30am and asked it I wanted to go today. We’re kind of between churches. There's a small church nearby that we've been to a few times. We'll probably go back. Just not today...
Got up. About 9am.
Had some coffee and checked my email. Cleaned out my Google Reader.
Wrote an entry for Guuki.
Cooked breakfast: sausage, eggs & cheese, grits, toast, some leftover bacon. Biscuits and sausage gravy for Cheryl. Wished I had tomatoes, but we just set those out last weekend...
Wrote and published an entry for my education blog on Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's activities this past week. Wrote a second entry that will drip onto my ed blog later this week.
Cleaned out by Google Reader. Drank more coffee.
Created a Twitter background for my profile page.
Washed the breakfast dishes.
Listed to the stuff they do on the Speed Channel before the pre-race show comes on for NASCAR while I did other stuff.
Took pictures of the baby tree swallows. They've been alive five days now. Not much difference from yesterday. Waiting for the eyes to open.
Figured out (finally) how to download a video off of YouTube for later use. Since YouTube is blocked at school, this is a very useful skill. I downloaded a handful of potentially useful videos on social networking, social media, and Twitter for a presentation I may get to do this summer.
Listened to (and, intermittently, actually watched portions of) the Autism Speaks 400, today's NASCAR race in Dover. Wanted Kyle Busch to win, but I think he can in some place near 20th...
Cooked dinner: grilled steaks (sirloin, on sale for $2.99 a pound). I rubbed the meat with garlic powder and salt; mine also got some red pepper and curry powder. Baked potatoes, green beans, and part of a cucumber.
Watched the end of the race.
Took a 90-minute nap. (My dog also took a 90-minute, curled up in the small of my back...)
Cleaned out my Google Reader. Drank some green tea I brewed myself yesterday and put in the fridge.
Worked on a Guuki entry.
Did the dinner dishes. Fixed the coffeepot for in the morning.
Ironed tomorrow's cloths.
Fixed breakfasts and lunches to take to work tomorrow: Cheryl has mashed potatoes and meatballs (with a sauce made from Concord grape jelly and chili sauce), plus cottage cheese and blueberries for breakfast. I have a sausage muffin w/ egg and cheese to heat in the morning and a mix of rice, lentils, and peas in a butter & curry sauce with onions and some beef, along with some wilted spinach in bacon grease. (I know, my arteries...)
Turned off the TV.
Had a glass of Burgundy while I listened to Yo-Yo Ma and blogged. Purchased a couple of new Yo-Yo Ma pieces from iTunes.
Went outside and sat on the deck breifly. Cheryl went to bed a while back. There are lightening bugs. I saw my first ones for the year last night. Wondered when the screech owl will arrive.
Now considering going to bed early, but I will probably resist the temptation.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
