Vote

I've Decided

This weekend I read an article by Tony Lake, former National Security Advisor during the Clinton Administration. Mr. Lake points out that Barack Obama has more foreign policy experience (as a Senator and from more extensive travel, work and living throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East) than Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, or Jimmy Carter had before they became President. And, of course, far more than George W.

He further states that Obama has shown to have a steady demeanor during the campaign and says that Obama has the even keel and intellect that would serve him well as president.

That kind of reasoning resonates with me.

Also – my own observation is that Obama is similar to Ronald Reagan in that he communicates well and inspires. Qualities the President needs if he (or she) is to persuade Congress and the Country to follow a course of action – foreign or domestic.

Another observation is that Hillary Clinton screwed up royally by squandering a huge early poll lead and overwhelming campaign coffer. She seems to respond to her campaign missteps by firing people and ignoring the will of her party by ‘back room’ maneuvering to get Super Delegates to support her (NOT by having a plan).

It reminds me how she (and Bill) screwed up health care reform. Early arrogance followed by no back up plan.

Obama came from behind by determination and sticking to his message. Much in the same way that McCain did on the Republican side.

So – I’ve decided to vote for Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States in the North Carolina Primary next Tuesday.

I will be casting my vote at Deep River Elementary School - about a mile or so down the road from my home.

That – of course – is only my vote in the Primary.

I’m still undecided on who I will ultimately vote for in November.

VOTE!

In North Carolina - if you are not registered - You Can Still Vote!

You can register and vote at an Early Voting location through this Saturday, May 3.

Follow this State Board of Election link to find the Early Vote location in your county.

http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/content.aspx?id=17

Vote for the Candidate of Your Choice.

VOTE!!!

Weekend

Saturday

 

 

A couple of photos from outside my building during Military Appreciation Day in Raleigh.

Before the parade, I went over to Pittsboro to pick up my lawn mower (annual spring tune up). But it wasn't ready yet. I'll have to get it next Saturday.

Sunday

 

Sunday morning I did some laundry and finished cleaning the deck. I still have to clean the railings and trellis.

I also partially changed the water in the hot tub.

By noon - most chores are done for the day. All I have left to do is hang up my clothes when the dryer finishes and fix my lunch for work tomorrow.

PBS



The PBS 10-hour documentary Carrier starts tonight.

Just A Plant

First, let's tuck you into bed. We'll read a bedtime story. And you'll have sweet dreams.

Then - Mommy is going to go get baked . . . .

http://justaplant.com/

:-)

Porch and Deck

 

 

I’ve been cleaning the porch and deck this week. Spending about an hour after work each day. It’s been at least 3 years since I’ve done this so the dirt and grime has really built up. I figure at the rate it’s taking – I should be done by Sunday.

After I finish the deck - I'll apply a weather sealant.

Smoking

It’s about 3 months since I’ve quit smoking.

I quit ‘cold turkey’.

No real plan or anything – I just decided one day that smoking was incredibly stupid; I couldn’t believe that I was actually stupid enough to waste my money and health smoking; I’d had enough; and I just wasn’t going to do it anymore.

I’ve gotten to the point where I no longer have constant cravings. But – I have been dreaming about smoking the past week – 3 so far that I remember. In each dream, I’m having ‘just one’ cigarette and feeling really guilty about it. My reactions in the dreams have been so intense that I’ve woken up.

I guess I won’t really be able to say I’ve quit until it’s been a year or more.

Congressional Bowl

There is only a simple web site for now. And, it's unknown where the game will be played - at Nationals Park or RFK Stadium.

But - the ACC has signed an agreement to provide one of the teams for the Congressional Bowl being formed in the DC area.

The idea is to pair one of the service academies (Navy being the most likely) against an ACC team.

The inaugural game will be played on December 20 and televised on ESPN.

The ACC - Have Bowl - Will Travel.

Current ACC bowl tie ins are:

Orange - Miami
Peach - Atlanta
Gator - Jacksonville
Champs - Orlando
Minike - Charlotte
Emerald - San Francisco
Music City - Nashville
Humanitarian - Boise
Congressional - DC

That's 9 teams out of a 12 team conference.

Plus - if by some miracle an ACC teams plays in the National Championship game - everybody moves up one spot so there's possibly 10 teams playing.

The question is - can the ACC come up with 9 or 10 bowl eligible teams?

My prediction - NC State has a 7 and 5 season and is the 6th place ACC team.

Head Coach (Naval Academy, Class of 1970 - Major, USMC) Tom O'Brien passes up the Emerald, Music City, and Humanitarian Bowls and chooses to play Navy in the Inaugural Congressional Bowl.

Carolina squeaks out a 6 and 6 season and gets beat by the Barstow CA Community College Women's Softball Team in the Humanitarian Bowl.

Remember - You heard it here first!

Military Appreciation Day

If you're in Raleigh this coming Saturday, April 26 - there will be a parade, displays and events going on downtown.

http://www.saluteournctroops.org/

Saturday, April 19 +Addendum

 

 

 

Woke up early – around 5 AM.

Got up and watched the sun come up from the hot tub.

Later I did a load of laundry, some light house keeping, and changed part of the water in the hot tub.

I do that every weekend. I drop in a small sump pump and take the water level down to the upper water jets. Then, I fill the tub back up to just below the side control knobs. That changes about 10 or 20 percent of the water. By doing that every weekend, it helps keep the water fresh.

This afternoon was the NCSU Spring Football game. You really can’t tell anything about a team at the spring game. It’s more of an occasion to go out to the stadium and hang out for a while. Sort of ‘whetting the appetite’ for football season.

No plans for the rest of the weekend. I’ll probably just hang around and read.

I want to power wash the porch but I’m not sure if the heavy pollen is over yet. I think I’ll wait till next weekend to do that.

I also watched Michael Clayton on DVD. It won an Academy Award. It's a good movie. But it's no where near that good.

Sunday Evening Addendum

About 15,000+ showed up for the Spring Football Game. It was a lot of fun to watch.

Sunday, I decided to go ahead and start power washing the porch and deck. Rather than wait for the weekends - I think I'll do a little bit each day till it's done.

Late Sunday afternoon we had some very strong thunderstorms. Pea sized hail fell for about 10 minutes. The hail was heavy enough to cover the deck and beat my poor tulips to death.

Tulips

 

I learn something new almost all the time.

My daffodils have bloomed and are now decaying. I did not know they did that.

Well, obviously I knew they wouldn’t live forever. I just thought they would continue to bloom all summer – not so. Now, I have ratty looking daffodil plants amongst the newly blooming tulips.

Even though the Tulip’s green shoots came up long before the daffodils, the actual buds and flowers wait until it’s really warm before they open up. They just started blooming this weekend.

Tulip flowers also close up at night to protect themselves from the cool and open back up during the day which is kind of neat.

I had expected to have pots full of daffodils and tulips blooming concurrently – but that’s not the case.

Plus, I’ve found out that the tulips might only bloom this year. While all bulb plants need cold winters to activate the bulbs – apparently tulips need serious cold and longer winters.

The winters in piedmont / coastal plain NC may not be quite cold enough or long enough for them. (I live just upstream from the ‘fall line’ between the piedmont and coastal plain.)

I recently found out that people dig up their tulip bulbs and put them in the freezer for the winter. Then, replant in the spring.

Well, I’m not gonna do that. Heck, the whole point was to plant bulbs and then forget about them and let them do their thing year after year.

I purposefully did not plant day lilies since they seem to be everywhere in NC. I wanted something different.

But guess what? There’s a reason day lilies are ubiquitous. They bloom year after year, propagate, have varied colors and are well suited to NC.

I think I’m going to have to plant a few in each pot for variety and color.

Saturday, April 5 +Addendum

 

This is Main Street, Sylva, North Carolina. The Jackson County Courthouse is at the end of the street on the hill. You can see it better if you click on the photo to see the image full size.

I worked at Western Carolina University this past week. Nothing really outstanding to report - pretty much a typical week in the field.

Looking forward to being in the office for a while.

Tonight I'll be watching the NCAA Final Four and rooting for UNC.

That's about it.

Addendum

Kansas beat the dickens out of UNC.

I was shocked at how poorly UNC played. Down by 28 in the first half, the Tarheels made an amazing come back - but still fell short. The difference in the final score, 18 points, pretty much indicates how the game went.

Football

My football ticket ordering package was in the mail when I got home.

I wonder how the Wolfpack will do this fall?