I'm sure Mr. "3-way dead heat for 3rd place"'s words come as great consolation to McCain.
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Somehow I got roped into making a family photo album for the girlfriend, so now I'm spending a lovely Christmas evening in bed with a pair of laptops learning Movable Type on the fly and trying to figure out why we can't just use flickr like everybody else.
Oh, and if you've never tried to upload data at a respectable speed from a Marriott outside Orlando, don't. I'm getting about 100k/s, which is only slightly faster than writing it on a napkin and mailing it to the hosting provider.
]]>That's not to say that I cook well, I don't. Fuckups are frequent, and this is why I solicited advice, scoured the internet, and actually practiced the recipe earlier in the week before deploying it on my friends.
Most of the recipe is from this site, helpfully titled "the Worlds Best Mac and Cheese". I like it not just because it's based on a recipe from James Beard, or because it involves a roux, which I'd never done before but might be the secret to deliciousness in all things, but because it's by someone named Patrick Fitzgerald, and I can pretend that in between indicting Scooter Libby and Rob Blagojevich, Fitz took a moment to do some chefery.
]]>I'd assumed that there had been a drop, but I had no idea it was that sharp or deep. The repercussions of such a drop-off are also surprising. Suck it, Iran.
]]>Weird.
]]>Not that things can't go wrong, Democrats have a long history of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory [oops, got that backwards at first], but there seems to be a lot of reason for confidence, and there's certainly a lot of reason for excitement. The mere possibility of an Obama victory is enough to fill even the most jaded political heart with a bit of song.
I've been listening to people debate the relative incompetence of the American people for the better part of eight years now, and I'm getting tired of defending them. I truly do not believe that Americans are, as a whole, stupid people. Shortsighted? Easily frightened? Generally disinterested in the nitty gritty of politics and world affairs? Sure. But when a case is presented to them, they will make a rational conclusion, and this is a case where I think that conclusion will be the right one.
Kerry made his case poorly in 2004. Al Gore won in 2000. We have a better candidate now than we did either time (Al Gore has since gotten better and Kerry, thank god, has virtually disappeared), and that candidate has run a remarkably tight, intelligent, positive campaign. Meanwhile, McCain has run a surprisingly incoherent and despicable campaign, so the wind is really at Obama's back coming into the finish.
Very exciting times. It needs to end soon, though, 'cause it's getting hard to work with my fingers crossed all the time.
]]>1) Whole Foods MILF
2) Creepy American Apparel-clad hipster (with short short gym shorts AND Members Only jacket)
3) Hunter S. Thompson
4) Phil Akka, a dude I work with. I actually considered shaving my head just to make this happen, since the rest of the costume is just Tevas and an Equinox shirt.
oh well. Maybe next year.
]]>But here's a tantalyzing possibility: If Stevens were somehow to squeak through this election, and then be forced to resign after exhausting his appeals, might Sarah Palin decide to appoint ... Sarah Palin?
You know, I wouldn't be surprised, and that depresses me.
]]>It's funny, Jon Stewart is always saying that Bush has one more crazy war left in him, invading Mexico or bombing Vancouver or something, who knew he'd actually be right?
]]>So I've been playing around with CNN's electoral vote calculator, spurred on by this post detailing the states McCain thinks they've lost vs. the states they think are still worth fighting in.
Offered a chance to respond to the suggestion that the McCain campaign is awash in defeatism, a McCain official delivered a decidedly measured appraisal: “We have a real chance in Pennsylvania. We are in trouble in Colorado, Nevada and Virginia. We have lost Iowa and New Mexico. We are OK in Missouri, Ohio and Florida. Our voter intensity is good, and we can match their buy dollar for dollar starting today till the election. It’s a long shot, but it’s worth fighting for.”
So here's how I think it will break down, conservatively speaking, for Obama on Nov 4:
CA 55 - My people, nice work!
CO 9 - McCain's guy says they're "in trouble" in Colorado. I say the kids in Boulder will make this happen. Go hippies!
CT 7 - Where the New York elite have their weekend homes. Rich people that still care about other humans.
DC 3 - The people who work and live in Washington seem to know who they'd rather have running the place.
DE 3 - Well, duh. They like Biden.
HI 4 - This grandmother trip has to be helping. Freepers probably think it's a staged campaign stunt.
IA 7 - McCain has straight up conceded Iowa. Weird, I know.
IL 21 - Easy to win with all the dead voters, I hear.
MA 12 - Bluest state in the country, God bless 'em.
MD 10 - Basically still DC. See above.
ME 4 - So far north I think it's illegal for them to lean right.
MI 17 - Not sure, but everybody's called it for Obama.
MN 10 - Between Garrison Keillor and Canada, they've got a lot of positive reinforcement for their leftward views.
NH 4 - Leans left, but fairly solidly by current standards, and while Obama is trending down, it's not a very steep line. Maybe if the election were held after Christmas, McCain could have a shot.
NJ 15 - Tony Soprano is a Democrat.
NM 5 - Again, McCain has given up on New Mexico.
NV 5 - They only admit to being in trouble in Nevada, at this point they'll need to do better.
NY 31 - I moved here for a reason.
OH 20 - They seem to have given up on this one too, though it will be tight. I think Barry's got it.
OR 7 - As long as they stop hugging trees and sipping coffee long enough to vote.
PA 21 - McCain's anonymous staffer says they think they can take Pennsylvania. I disagree.
RI 4 - Is there a color bluer than blue?
VA 13 - Real America my ass.
VT 3 - It's a well-known fact that Burton employees all vote Dem.
WA 11 - Not even a possibility that McCain will win here.
WI 10 - I'm surprised, given that everyone I know from Wisconsin is a Fox-breathing wingnut, but polling never lies, so there you go.
Now, notice that I didn't give him Florida. I think McCain will take the land of giant bugs and voter disenfranchisement, but I'm happy to be wrong, and at any rate, there's just no chance he gets Ohio AND Florida, so 27 or 20, but not both (47, you simpletons). Even without FL's 27 (!) votes, Obama still gets 311 by my count, which makes me giggle with joy. I'll happily/despondently compare my list to what happens in 10 days, but for now let's just try and make this happen.
Oh, and by the way, even if Obama loses Missouri, Florida, AND Ohio, he still wins in my scenario, which is crazy to me, but oh well. Not cocky, just excited...
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I'm sure Mr. "3-way dead heat for 3rd place"'s words come as great consolation to McCain.
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Oh well. Nice knowing you John.
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