This is Tony Collett's weblog dedicated to my thoughts on the happenings in the world, comic books, anime, science fiction, DVDs, and anything else I encounter.
I'm forty-something, male, and married (sorry, ladies)
It looks like it's called:
Yahoo!: Obama 329, McCain 127.
MS-NBC: Obama 297, McCain 146.
CNN: Obama 297, McCain 139.
CBS: Obama 323, McCain 145.
And no fix in sight...
So without further ado, as I wished I could play here at this time, as promised, hit it:
I don't care if no one complained that George changed it in the special edition. We need it, now more than ever.
And to prove how wonderful the internet is to nerds like us, here are the lyrics in English:
Freedom, we got freedom;
And now that we can be free;
Come on and celebrate.
Power, we got power;
And now that we can be free;
It's time to celebrate.
Celebrate the freedom;
Celebrate the power;
Celebrate the glory;
Celebrate the love.
Power, we got power;
And now that we can be free,
It's time to celebrate.
Celebrate the light; (Freedom!)
Celebrate the might; (Power!)
Celebrate the fight; (Glory!)
Celebrate the love.
Celebrate the love.
Celebrate the love.
Glory, we found glory;
The power showed us the light,
And now we all live free.
Celebrate the light; (Freedom!)
Celebrate the might; (Power!)
Celebrate the fight; (Glory!)
Celebrate the love.
Celebrate the love.
Celebrate the love.
Celebrate the love.
Oh, and one last thing for McCain/Palin and their supporters:
Sorry about that, but after years of being told to "get over it" and that I'm wrong and to keep quiet, I needed that moment.
Tomorrow, we start joining together and see what we can do to make our country great again.
Last time on Live Election Blogging, I said "Looks like I'll be watching Indecision 2008 on Comedy Central, as the other tuner is recording "The IT Crowd" on IFC." Don't know how this'll effect the live blogging. Same as last time, click on the link for the whole post and hit "refresh" or F5 for new comments as they appear. Here we go... more»
Here's another hour of fun. Same as last hour, click on the permanent link for this post, and hit "refresh" or F5 to see new comments. Hopefully, more interesting things to talk about. Next hour is the Comedy Central special on the race. Here we go... more»
Hi, gang. Sorry I'm late, but Kathy's chili and grilled cheese is sooo good. On the bright side, the video in my last post had more content than most of the news channels. Keep hitting "refresh" to see updated comments. Here we go... more»
The live blogging should begin by 8pm Eastern. Kathy's making chili for supper tonight and I want to enjoy it before I dive into all this. So far we're watching BBC America on one tuner, and have the other tuner set up for DirecTV's election news mix. Thanks to TiVo, I can switch back and forth. Of course, Kathy is enjoying the British accents on the reporting.
At 7pm, they've called Vermont for Obama (3 Electoral Votes (EV)) and Kentucky for John McCain (8 EV) All the main news channels still made that call.
Infrared Saunas can help a lot of people in a lot of ways. On one level you can create your own retreat to get away from it all and relax. On another, with the help of a far infrared sauna it can relieve many health and stress-related illnesses. The energy that's released by one of these saunas can penetrate up to 1.5" deep into muscle tissue. 93% of this energy is absorbed through our skin. By heating these tissues, it can help a lot of muscle and tension related stress and pain. It can also help cleanse the toxins from the body, and help you lose weight. It can also assist in getting you in better health and make you feel better.
Kathy and I went to vote after eating lunch after she got home. We had the Mega Pizza Rolls. Just like the package says they're like regular pizza rolls, only twice as big. There wasn't a line when we went. There were two voting machines and one person was voting when we got there. I chatted a bit with the volunteer, and he said there was a line when their polls first opened, but it's been light since then. And you couldn't ask for better weather today. And it's good to know the Ohio problems I mentioned earlier were mainly due to poll volunteers being overwhelmed and not sure of the rules, and has been mostly straightened out.
When I was younger I dreamed of going to California. It always seemed like the weather was good, and it was a bright sunny place to live. Even though reality has set in in those dreams, I can see the attraction in living in California. The two times that we actually went out there was to the Bay area, which is a nice, diverse area to live. And with the help of these Oakland Realtors you can get the best deal on a place to live there. They have been certified for the number of transactions they've completed, being on the board of directors, and their record. So if you're looking to move to that part of California, see what these Realtors in Oakland can do for you.
There's already some reports that something's afoot in the election today. Virginia is reporting broken machines and no paper ballots in some areas, although they're supposed to have paper ballots for just such an emergency. And Blogger Interrupted is reporting some voters in Ohio are being given provisional ballots in some areas, most for incorrect reasons. His site is updating throughout the day, so keep checking. And Yahoo is reporting record turnout and voting problems.
And Patton Oswalt plans to live blog the election for 4 hours starting at 7pm. I might start then, or later, don't know, depends on how things go. When I do start following the election returns tonight, I plan to have my laptop with me to record my impressions. I want to do something different than other live blogging I've encountered. I hope to annotate what I write so you won't wonder what I've written comes from, at least note what I'm watching on TV or what website I"m looking at, so that way anyone catching up can see what I'm talking about. For example, right now I'm watching DirecTV's Newsmix channel that I mentioned last night. It has CNN (w/audio, only channel with audio, it's not that big a mess), Headline News, Bloomberg, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox Business, Faux Noise, and Weather Channel. They're offering special election coverage starting at 7pm (hmm, y'all trying to tell me something here?) A little while ago, Faux Noise was bleating about Obama's eschewing public funding for his election, hand-wringing that it signals the death of public funding. Where was all this when W didn't take public funding in 2000 and 2004?
Also, I'll try to group my blogging by time frames, to better break it up and make it easier for you to read it.
If you're in the market for custom t-shirts you've come to the right place. They offer custom printing and custom embroidery. They'll work with you no matter the size of the order to get you the shirts that you want. They have hundreds of designs to choose from, or if you have a design of your own they have a custom design studio to allow you to create the shirt you want online so that they can get right on it. You can also reach them by phone if e-mail isn't fast enough if you want to maintain communication to ensure your order will be right. They offer free standard shipping on all orders within the continental US. They also offer rush shipping if you need that shirt in a hurry.
Even back in high school I said the Electoral College should be abolished, allowing the people to vote directly for President. Be that as it may, that's the system in place. In that spirit, I present my prediction for how it'll go tomorrow night (italicized is one of the states I will be watching to see how the winds blow):
Obama/Biden: 321
Maine 4
New Hampshire 4
Vermont 3
Massachussetts 12
Rhode Island 4
Connecticut 7
New Jersey 15
Delaware 3
Maryland 10
District of Columbia 3
Pennsylvania 21 Virginia 13 Florida 27
Michigan 17
Wisconsin 10
Illinois 21
Minnesota 10
Iowa 7
North Dakota 3 Colorado 9
New Mexico 5
Nevada 5
Washington 11
Oregon 7
California 55
Hawaii 4
Sorry about going on about the election, but the big day is tomorrow, after all this time of campaigning and going back and forth. Wil Wheaton has some excellent thoughts, basically go and vote, don't let anything keep you from doing it. The long lines, anything. Bring a book, a video game, pack a lunch, plan to stay for the day. Even if it looks like it's going your way, still go out and let your voice heard. California still needs to say no to Prop H8.
And sad news is coming out on the eve of the election: Barack Obama's grandmother has passed away. Such a sad thing to happen this close. We wish to add to the condolences of everyone nationwide.
Tomorrow night I plan to live blog the election results as I come across them. I plan to start around 8pm Eastern, unless things get going before then. Check back here to see what's going on. The current plan is to check the cable news channels, including DirecTV news channel (with 8 channels to see what's going on) and BBCAmerica's coverage, and Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's live Election special at 10, and write about whatever I encounter, much like this blog in general. The Huffington Post has a page set up to track election returns that I plan to check, along with other websites. And I wish to add Missouri to the state outcomes I'll be watching. Yahoo is saying that the outcomes in Georgia, Indiana and Virginia will indicate how it will go, but I don't think that would necessarily be the case. It looks like Georgia and Indiana will go McCain, with Virginia going for Obama. And Dick Polman points out some things to watch for in this election. Tune in tomorrow to see how it really goes.
It's difficult to find out your child has cerebral palsy. It's even more so to find out that your child's condition was caused by something that could've been prevented. With the help of experts in cerebral palsy, you can find out if there is cause to take legal action. It won't take it back, but it will at least reduce the burden on your part.
Sorry if the blog was down a little while ago. I was hoping it would come up so I could have this last word with you while the evening was young. Remember a few days ago when I wrote about Proposition 8 and the whole gay marriage issue? I was glad to see Wil Wheaton point out the same argument that made, but one better: replace "gay" with "interracial" in the argument against marriage and see how silly it is. And with videos at the link, no less. And last night Mark Evanier linked to this LA Times piece that pointed out the lies being spread to support Prop H8.
As Mark wrote here, tomorrow's vote isn't going to settle the matter once and for all, the fight will return and be re-fought until it is stopped, but after much time and money is wasted, and peoples' lives are subjected to misery in the meantime. But as a commenter on Wil's blog who goes by the nom de post of swordman69 put it: "One thing to remember, voting NO changes nothing. It doesn't affect a single thing. Only a yes vote changes what is currently legal here in California. Do we teach same-sex marriage in schools now? NO. Is it affecting you in any way now, NO. Only a yes vote changes anything. A Yes vote puts discrimination into our state constitution."
How would you like to get high speed internet? Zipping along at the highest possible speed to get the latest news, information, watch video. And gaming! Have you ever tried online gaming where your internet connection wasn't up to snuff? The lag times and freeze ups can be so frustrating, to you and to other gamers. That's why if you game online you want a connection that is fast and reliable. If you're looking for such a service, not only is there one available, but they're running a contest right now. If you go to Charter Communications Xbox Sweepstakes you could win an Xbox 360 and more. Prize package includes: XBox 360® Pro Console, XBox LIVE Headset, Wireless Controller, Component HD AV Cable and 20Gb Detachable Hard Drive. Everything you need to get up and gaming online.
And not only that, you can add Charter HD and get picture quality 6 times sharper than standard TV. Between the high speed internet and HD, you won't leave your TV, let alone your house. Why would you? With great high speed internet that can keep up with your gaming, and high definition connection to watch TV with such sharp image and quality sound that sounds like a dream come true. But it won't happen unless you head over there and sign up today to win an Xbox 360 system.
I wanted to get this post out while it's still early enough for enough people to read it. We're getting down to the wire, kids. Tomorrow's the big day to vote, to have your say. Here's a site to get information about voting, and to set things straight.
To ensure that you don't have to vote provisional, make sure you bring ID (even if it's a state that doesn't require it) or an official document that has your address on it, and make sure that you're at the right polling place. Even if you've voted there in other elections before, they might've changed the location. Check today to make sure where to go.
If a poll worker asks you to vote provisionally, double check to make sure you're in the correct polling place. Then respectfully ask the basis for asking you to vote provisionally. Then challenge it. Provisional ballots are put aside and counted only in the event that a race is close, and that's in the best of circumstances. Get a polling official to make a decision in your case, and if they don't let you vote, then call the Board Of Elections if you have to.
Make up an index card with numbers to call to report your voter suppression. Call Election Protection at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) and Obama's voter protection hotline at 1-877-US-4-OBAMA (1-877-874-6226) and report it here when you get home. Write down both, even if you're voting for the other guy. If Gov. Crist of Florida believes in all Americans' right to vote, so it is with Obama. Think of it as a back up, if nothing else. Look up and write down the phone numbers of the local papers and television stations. Even if it's very likely you won't need it, there might be someone else who does. Stand up for others if need be. As I said, it's likely it won't come to that, but as I say it's better to have a thing and not need it than to need a thing and not have it. Plus, it's a chance for us comic book fans to be able to be a hero in real life. And you'll feel good that you can stand up to a bully, who's usually a coward and likely to step down once you show you're ready to fight. And feel good that you can be the hero if necessary.
And that's what it comes down to, as Mark Gibson says. The pundits can talk until they're blue in the face ("and they will. At great length. Whether you want them to or not" as Alan Rickman said in Dogma) and you see the polls and the trends and everybody telling you how it's going to turn out, but the only thing that matters is you, in the voting booth, making a selection. It isn't special interest groups or trends or predictions that decide this election, it isn't Democrat or Republican or Green or Independent, it's you that casts that vote.
If you think the past 8 years have been good and want to continue, vote McCain. If you think we need to change the direction this country is going in, vote Obama. That's how I've been putting it to keep it simple, but Geoffrey D. Wessel puts it so much better.
And for those who long for a return to the good old days when elections and balloting were easier and not so dirty, here's an article for you.
Many people want to improve their yard by adding a bird feeder, either because it adds something to the decor, or the birds it attracts adds to that same decor. Or maybe it's the idea that creating a natural sanctuary will make for a more peaceful environment that you can go to to get away from it all and to relax. But there are problems that can interfere with creating that safe environment. Our big problem is that we have two cats who may feel that if we create such an environment, we're not creating a sanctuary, we're creating a buffet for them. They think it's all about them, but that's a whole different post at least.
But there are other dangers to the birds that you may attract with a bird feeder. Like cats, some birds are territorial and may feel threatened by other birds infringing on "their" territory. Or larger birds may be attracted that would threaten others. Squirrels who will raid the bird feeders for food, insects who invade hummingird feeders, and windows that appear invisible to birds in flight. At my last job they had this problem that they solved by putting up bird sillouette cutouts of birds on the windows. And there's other things you can do to protect you sanctuary and the birds that you attract to your bird feeders. You can get special feeders and equipment to attract what you want and keep away what you don't want that could threaten what you want like squirrel-proof bird feeders and more. Create an environment that will bring you peace of mind on all levels.
When we watched the last Diners, Drive Ins and Dives they said there was a book out. I checked the usual spots for books, and found that Barnes And Noble had it (I've got the membership card for the 10% discount), and had a preview of the book. If you have an account set up on their site you can even see a few more pages. We found a recipe in the preview for Cap'n Crunch French Toast that we wanted to fix this Sunday. We got the book the other day when I renewed my membership. And today Kathy fixed it up (with a little help from me) and it was good. She only put a little syrup on for me because she didn't want me to slip into a diabetic coma. I think Laura would like the book and try her hand at some of the recipes in the book. Heck, it was her Sunday reviews that introduced me to the show, so it's only fair I returned the favor.
Anybody who's experienced car problems can tell you what a pain it is to get the parts needed. Seems they always need to be ordered, take forever, and it costs so much you wonder if you've been taken. But here's a place where you can order car parts that stocks from all makes, offers low prices and free shipping. Whatever part you need, they can help you with it.
I saw Mark Gibson did a post about it, and it inspired me to do one, as well. Opus (or Bloom County 3.0, after the original Bloom County and Outland) has come to an end today. The final strip's ending can be found here. Ironic given the Berkeley Breathed said that Opus would be a newspaper strip only, no online access. Also, it's kind of like what Jon Stewart was saying on The Daily Show the other night about the end of Barack Obama's infomercial where he extolled people to sign up on his website: "I have a dream. And to find out more, go to www.martinlutherking.com/mountaintop." Breathed had a contest about the ending, which he discusses at his website (currently unavailable) where a donation was made to the winner's local animal shelter. This week is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week. Find out what you can do here and here:
You can do something as simple as signing an e-card or campaign for the animals. Or you could do a little more and donate money, time, or adopt a pet.
Anyway, the end of Opus. You can re-read one of the Bloom County collections, the Opus 25 Years Of His Sunday Best book (like the runners up, mine's autographed) or check out the movie Secondhand Lions. Rent it, Netflix it, or watch it at 2pm Eastern on TNT today.
This has turned out to be an interesting Presidential election. As Mark Evanier once wrote California and New York look to go Democrat, Texas and Arizona look to go Republican, the rest will be a toss up. For the most part, we have an idea which way the states will go on Tuesday. But here's a list of 10 states I'll be keeping an eye on to see how they vote to get an idea of how this election will turn out:
1) Florida- This is the state that started all the fuss back in 2000. With all the campaigning going back and forth this time around, and the Democrats looking like they've got a shot this time around, especially thanks to Gov. Crist deciding that voting shouldn't favor his side or any side, but all sides, I will be interested in the outcome.
2) Virginia- The southern states have been red since President Lyndon Johnson led the fight to pass the Civil Rights Act in 1965, and further entrenched by Nixon's so-called "southern strategy" in his Presidential run in 1968. But there have been signs of Virginia going blue, causing some to accuse the state of being communist (when they're not crank-calling 911) Will the vicious circle be unbroken?
3) North Carolina- Another possible break in the southern toe-hold.
4) Pennsylvania- McCain is putting all of his effort there in his last shot before the buzzer. Is it going to work?
5) Ohio- Another infamous state, this time from the last election. The polls have been going back and forth on this one. Which way will it end up? Have Ohioans had enough? Or is the fix in?
6) Indiana- Hey, it's my home state. In sports, I always follow the team close to home. They have no professional baseball team, but I followed the Cincinnati Reds as a kid, and followed the Chicago Cubs from late adolescence on. Indiana's went Repugnican in every election since '68. There's talk that it could go for Obama. They say it's neck and neck.
7) North Dakota
8) Montana- Both of these states have been red states. Is this another spot where the spell has been broken?
9) Arizona- Now there's talk that McCain may not win his home state. A candidate winning his home state is a given. Maybe that's why McCain has 13 of them, where are they located again? Gore didn't win Tennessee in 2000, and look what happened.
10) Colorado- There's been some talk of voter purging from the records a while back, has it actually taken place? Is this going to be this year's Florida or Ohio?
I was originally going to leave the 10th spot open, because I couldn't think of a race at first and then remembered Colorado. But as a vice presidential candidate once said "who am I?" I'm just a schmuck with a blog. Do you have a better idea? Make your own list.
And it looks like my schedule will allow me to do some live blogging election night, starting at 9pm Eastern time. Might be a little earlier, depending on how things are starting to shape up. Think of it as old-school Twitter. I'll be following it, might as well get the laptop up and running and jot down my thoughts. Come on by and see what I'm up to. There's a good chance you'll see a blogger lose his mind. A couple of you might say "too late".
Vehicles are like the coloring or lettering in a comic book: you take it for granted when everything's working as it should, you hate it when it goes bad. And there's so many hassles involved with auto repair. Not only is your car out of commission, there's getting it looked at, the price, etc. And the worry that maybe you're getting taken for a ride.
Fortunately, RepairPal can help you with everything this side of the actual auto repair. The big worry is what it'll cost and they can help you with auto repair estimates so you can get a good idea of how much it'll cost to fix. And it's hard to find a good mechanic and they can come through with helping you find a repair shop. If you know what's wrong with it, or want to try to get an idea, RepairPal is there with information on such topics as Timing belt replacement, that can tell you what it does and what happens when it goes wrong.
So instead of being stuck in a lurch next time there's something wrong, head on over to RepairPal and get yourself informed, so you can get the best repair at the best price. And you can have peace of mind that you got the best deal.
Last night I turned on the porch light and waited for the trick or treaters. I ended up with only 3, 1 of which was the son of a co-worker's of Kathy's. I almost said daughter, because I made that same mistake last night, as the kid had the same name as a friend of our's daughter. Same amount as last year. And it cost me $7.20 to get the two 25 packs of mini-comics this year. Maybe I should get fewer, some of the promotional comics that they issue throughout the year and put back, maybe some candy to give out in case I run out, or say forget it and keep the porch light off.
Well, tomorrow night has the latest Simpsons Treehouse Of Horror episode, with the political and It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown satires that look good. And here's a list of top 10 previous Treehouse of Horror moments.
If you're looking to lose a few pounds, and the diet isn't working or you'd like to do more than just diet, why don't you check out this guide to the best treadmills? You can shop by price, options, and other criteria to select the treadmill that's best for you. They know what a big purchase this is for you, so they want to help you make an informed decision.
There's a bit of a hub-bub because the word's gotten out over next week's batch of Doonesbury comic strips. The fuss is that Wednesday's strips on predict a victory for Obama. Some papers are up in arms for...some reason, I don't know what. As creator G.B. Trudeau says, his strip was based on fivethirtyeight.com giving McCain a slim chance of winning (2.8% today, though it was a little higher at the time he said he drew the strips), and if he's wrong, it's just a comic strip wrong, not like the whole paper is wrong.
Back in college, I loaned my Doonesbury collections to Kathy to read, and she told me she'd read them while watching the Today show with Jane Pauley. You should've seen the look on her face when I told her the connection.
Mark Evanier writes a post about this, mentions the Mad magazine that came out just after the 1960 election, and has a YouTube video of a great crossword puzzle clue in the New York Times' crossword puzzle on election day 1996.
A lot of people have been hearing a lot about offshore accounts recently and are wondering what it's all about. Many people and businesses for one reason or another want to protect and maximize their assets as best they can. Everybody wants to get the most of what they can, right? Asset Protection Group International is an offshore asset protection company that can help you achieve that with fast, safe, private, and affordable protection, legal tax deferral and investment benefits, and more by providing services including structuring and management of asset protection trusts, offshore banking, merchant accounts, offshore incorporation services, company formation and other financial services. And they don't just ship off some documents to you via expensive overnight shipping that isn't quite what you're looking for. APGI works with their clients to determine their needs and shapes a business plan that best suits their needs. They also keep appraised of the changing international business environment so they can advise their clients on how best to proceed. And they want to also make sure that your privacy is protected while conducting business with them. So if you're looking to maximize and protect your assets see what APGI can do for you.
