The Big DumpTruck

I tried to stay awake for the entire Daily Show recap, but didn't make it. I'll watch the Tivo'd version tonight.

Regardless of what some people may think of those of us who have stated we are voting for Kerry, we aren't all blind, rabid Kerry supporters. I watched the debate to give W a chance to dazzle me, and convince me why I should vote for him. He blew it big time. He looked arrogant and shifty. The smarmy frat-boy smirk he wears like a badge of pride? Don't even get me started. The eye-blinking alone probably caused climate changes in his beloved China.

I actually had hoped Bush would do better, simply because he's our current President, and every time he looks like a fool, we look like fools for electing him. So many people think he's great and wonderful that I keep thinking I must be missing something. I lost all hope within about 10 minutes of watching his reaction shots when Kerry was speaking, and hearing him repeat the same 4 or 5 soundbites a few times during each answer. It must give Cheney a brain aneurysm to have to sit and watch Bush debate.

I mentioned on an email list that the reason Bush can't handle debates is that his handlers have put him in a lead-lined box and surrounded him with yes-men and women. If you don't agree to 100% of everything he says, you are removed from the inner circle. At his rallies, you have to sign a pledge to support him before they'll even let you in the door! Dear God, with that kind of insular life, no wonder he started stammering when someone within 50 feet of him called him on some of his bad decisions. He's been saying for years now that if you don't agree with him and buy into whatever the government says and does, you're an anti-American terrorist-lover. What IS anti-American, sir, is telling people they can't disagree with you. To punish people who speak out and say the President is wrong. THAT, my friends, is anti-American. It's not all-or-nothing, black and white. You can support the troops but not support the war.

And yet, I've seen some people call it a draw. I am being totally honest here, and you're going to have to trust me, that I think those people have spent too much time inhaling floor varnish. Have they really set the bar so low that as long as Bush doesn't pass out drunk on the stage it's a success? After last night, I won't be surprised if the night before the next scheduled debate they raise the terror level up and say they have to cancel.

Drink whenever he says "it's hard".

You don't want to add any other items or you'll get alcohol poisoning.

21 days of work left before vacation. I don't even care that I'm not going to get paid for a week...I'm getting a vacation! It's been over a year since I've taken off more than 2 days in a row! I can't describe to you how badly I need this time away from work...

21 Days, 21 days....I'm giddy!

Hey, kids! The Daily Probe published another of my interviews. Chris has actually renamed the feature to "Still Life with Joan," (Joan being the name I chose for the person who supposedly writes these things). That means I may remove the DP: references in the interviews themselves, because he's going to change them to say "Joan:" and I don't think that will work here. Anyway, it's up and posted for you! Don't you tell me that I don't love you!

(Also, if any of you are switching over to the beta design for my.yahoo.com, you can add rss feeds to it, so that any time I update this site, the headline will appear in my.yahoo just like the headlines from AP, etc. Really, it's cool, and I've already added a couple of my regular haunts to my own Yahoo. And someday maybe Natalie over at Pickle Juice will get off her butt and make an rss feed.)

Got my upgrade/replacement Sidekick II yesterday. She's very very nice. It didn't come with a little wrist strap like the old one, so I removed the old wrist strap and attempted to attach it at the appropriate place on the new one. And proceeded to scratch and destroy the casing around the place where a strap would attach. And then it turned out to not fit right, so I did more damage getting it off.

There's nothing I like better than mangling something less than 24 hours after I have it.

Now I get to make angry eyes at T-Mobile for not providing a damned wrist strap. Because without one, it's only a matter of time before I fling it on the floor. Mr. Dump looked at the old one, which I now have to ship back, and said "Wow, you really abused this thing." Not on purpose. But the paint was chipping and I'd actually worn the letters off some of the buttons and the menu button was kind of sticky. Yes, I use it all day, every day. I am afraid This one is due for the same type of wear and tear.

I will also take a picture with the camera and share it with you. Interestingly, the one I just mailed to myself looked WAY better on the cameras screen than it did on my computer. Huh.
Okay, here it is one for you. I didn't adjust the color or brightness.

For some reason, my mom's answering machine doesn't like me. It keeps hanging up on me. Oh sure, it's polite enough. It thanks me for my call before cutting me off. I can't tell if it's because her machine is full (which seems unlikely, but you never know. Maybe they don't erase anything, ever) or maybe I'm pausing too long between sentences. Do I have to starttalkinglikethissoitwon'tthinki'mdone?

Maybe I'll just ask her to make sure it's not full. I like to pause for a breath once in a while.

Yesterday at about 6:30pm or so (I think - I didn't look at my watch but I know the Sox game was already over) we were looking around at the cars at the new Saturn dealership in Fitchburg, which is maybe a mile or so from the Fitchburg airport, and I heard the sound of a plane engine suddenly change (like someone suddenly stepped on the gas) so I looked up - just in time to watch one plane cut right across the path of another, at what appeared to me to be the EXACT same altitude. I mean, I've seen planes fly close to each other, but this was a near-miss, no two ways about it. The sound I heard must have been the turning plane trying to speed up when it realized it was turning in front of someone. My best guess is the turning guy was circling in for a landing (taking left turns) and the other guy was taking off, because he continued on straight afterward.

I swear to God, my stomach went up into my throat when I looked up and saw those two planes no more than 100 or 200 feet from each other.

Mr. Dump, who was in a different part of the car lot than I was, confirmed that he looked up too and thought the same thing, that they were seconds from a crash. There was no mistaking how close they were to each other, and why the engine sound changed.

So were those pilots required by some sort of law to report the near miss? I certainly hope so. With all the BS going on because the Fitchburg airport doesn't have a tower, this kind of thing MUST be on record. It should be on the pilot's record, and the airport's record. I am not anti-airport, but I am anti-unsafe flying, and the guy landing most definitely made a horrifically unsafe move.

The fever is gone, so we are actually enjoying the weekend. Thank goodness! I was about done dealing with sick little boy.

So this is short because it's a 75 degree fall day and I am not staying inside the house.