Rambling: Sudden Change in Weather

The last two days have been the epitome of Kansas weather. Yesterday, Topeka set a record high of 73 degrees. It was a beautiful day, more like Spring than Fall. Today, on the other hand, saw an arctic cold front blast into the region, bringing with it freezing rain, sleet, and a chance for snow. The high for today of 43 occurred at a little after midnight. That seems downright balmy compared to the current conditions: 25 degrees with a wind chill of 15. Nearly a fifty degree swing in 24 hours! Amazing! What a fascinating and varied world it is that God has made.

"Discovery, go to throttle up."

Rambling: It's Too Early

It's already started. Thanksgiving is over. And with Thanksgiving over, almost everyone has their eyes set on one thing: Christmas. (This excludes retailers who've been putting Christmas decorations since October.) Already radio stations are rolling out the Christmas music. For me, though, it's too early. Advent, the season on the Liturgical calendar that precedes Christmas, doesn't begin until next Sunday, December 3rd. And like the calendar, I'm just not ready for Christmas to start, yet.

I'll never understand what it is that so many people find so attractive about Christmas that they feel it necessary to start celebrating the holiday months and months in advance. Don't get me wrong. I rejoice in the Incarnation, that God so loved the world that He chose to come as a child, grow up, and die on the cross for our sins. But for me, it's possible to overload on all the "joy." "Hark the Herald Angles Sing" is nice to hear for a while before it (and every other Christmas carol, secular or sacred) becomes trite.
Now, once Advent hits, you can be sure that the tree will come out and that the Christmas songs are going to be on my iTunes playlist. But until then, I'm going to be jumping stations on my radio every time Christmas songs come on. Anything more would only result in "Christmas overload."

Rambling: Ones and Zeroes

10010010 11001011 10011111

Forbes Tower, Cessna November 734837 is 9 miles Northeast with November, requesting vectors to the active, to land.

Rambling: Bad Analogies

From deep within the archives, here's a little English lesson on analogies for your reading pleasure.

He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from screen doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again.

The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an
eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and "Jeopardy" comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30.

Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the center.

Bob was as perplexed as a hacker who means to access T:flw.quid55328.com\aaakk/ch@ung but gets T:\flw.quidaaakk/ch@ung by mistake.

Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.

Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m.traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.


The thunder was ominous-sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play.

The red brick wall was the color of a brick-red Crayola crayon.

Commentary: Uh, What?

Read this bizarre story, courtesy of ABC News. The basic gist is that Iran's ambassador to the UN has complained about Israel threatening to bomb Iran. He has demanded that the Security Council order Israel to quit threatening Iran.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Okay, I'm back. Sorry about that; I couldn't help it. That is probably one of the most absurd statements I have ever read. Here is Iran, whose President consistently has called for Israel to be wiped off the map and whose country is attempting to develop nuclear weapons, protesting that Israel is considering acting to prevent such an attack. It must have been "Pull a Prank on the UN Day" or something, because I can't imagine anyone in his right mind actually sending such a letter to the UN and meaning it. Just more unusual behavior from the world's most unpredictable political regime.

It's sort of like Iran saying, "Mommy, brother's threatening to hit me back!"

Rambling: Bad Connection

I just got a sales call from my phone company. I've been trying to avoid them for several days because I really am satisfied with my service as it is and don't want to make any changes. However, tonight I finally answered the phone. However, the connection was quite bizarre. The conversation went something like this.

Me: Hello?
Heard on the phone in my voice (Phone): Hello?
Some guy from India (SGFI): Hello?
Me: Hello?
Phone: Hello?
SGFI: (Something indistinct)
Me: Hello?
Phone: Hello?
SGFI: May I speak with _________, please?
Me: This is he
Phone: This is he
SGFI: Mr. ___________ I am calling on behalf of _____, your current phone company. I want you to know that this phone call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes. How are you today, sir?
Me: Okay
Phone: Okay
SGFI: That's good sir. The reason I am calling, sir, is that we have some wonderful new packages that could save you a lot of money on your telephone bill. How much are you currently paying for your phone service, $50, $60?
Me: Hang on
Phone: Hang on
SGFI: Okay, sir
[Random noise as I grab my headset and try to use it instead of just my cell phone)
Me: Okay
Phone: Okay
SGFI: Okay
Me: I'm afraid we've...
Phone: I'm afraid we've...
Me: ...got a terrible connection
Phone: ...got a terrible connection
SGFI (probably not believing me): Oh, I see
Me: I can hear...
Phone: I can hear...
Me: ...myself twice, better than you
Phone: ...myself twice, better than you
SGFI (still confused and not sure what to do): So, we have some great packages available
Me: I'm quite happy...
Phone: I'm quite happy...
Me: ...with my current service
Phone: ....with my current service
SGFI: I see, sir. Thank you for your time. You may call us at _____________. Have a nice day.
Me: Thank you
Phone: Thank you

I don't know what system they were using to transmit the phone call between the cell system and India, but it was not working at all. It was very disconcerting to hear yourself twice (hear yourself twice). That leaves me with only one question to ponder: does this mean that I am beside myself?

Rant: Election Results

<rant>I'm frustrated and saddened by the current election results. People are out voting against President Bush by voting out quality, Republican candidates and by voting in candidates from the Democrat party who, I fear, are going to do serious damage to this country. Meanwhile, the media is busy gloating as much as possible. They're all smiles and laughing because they have to know that they are the ones who are responsible for the public disliking Bush. They have successfully manipulated the foolish American public by all the negative reporting on Iraq. (A question just asked on the tv, "What could the Republicans have done differently to win?" My answer: have allies in the news media the way the Democrat party does.) Congratulations to the news media! They're the real winners of this election.</rant>

The only question I still have: When will my taxes go up by $2500 a year? I need to know when I'm not going to be able to afford to live in safe, acceptable housing.

Commentary: Election Tomorrow

The election is tomorrow. Go out and vote! If you're not sure which candidates to vote for, check out your local paper, which should have published a voter guide yesterday. There's probably version of it also at your local paper's website.
With the election tomorrow, I realized that it was time for me to betray my obvious political bias (just like a certain local Topeka paper that will remain nameless) and comment on each of the state-wide races, including my endorsement for each position.

Governor
Incumbent: Kathleen Sebelius (D). Challenger: Jim Barnett (R).
Analysis: Sebelius, with a campaign bank account that could go a ways to alleviating the national debt, has outspent Barnett about 10 to 1. In her previous four years in office, in my opinion, Sebelius has done very little except appoint liberal, activist judges and show up at photo opportunities. Notably, she sat by while the state's Supreme Court violated the state Constitution and ordered the Legislature to come up with a half billion dollar education funding increase that the state couldn't afford. After the Legislature (at metaphorical gunpoint from the court), passed a spending package sure to bankrupt the state, Sebelius, who had nothing to do with it, promptly stepped in to take credit for it.
Endorsement: Jim Barnett. His proposals, while modest, at least show some awareness of the situation and a willingness to fix the financial crisis in which Kansas will find itself in the next two or three years. Barnett is an intelligent man, more mainstream than the left-leaning Sebelius, and a better candidate for governor than we've had in years.
Prediction: Sadly, money is what wins elections, and Sebelius and her bloated war chest will probably carry the day, unless large numbers of conservative and moderate get out to vote her out of office.

Attorney General
Incumbent: Phill Kline (R). Challenger: Paul Morrison (D)
Analysis: You knew this campaign would be ugly when Morrison switched parties just so he could run for attorney general. Morrison's campaign has showed no integrity, assailing Kline's character at every turn, misrepresenting Kline's views on every issue, and overall just flat out lying about everything. (Unfortunately, Kline has fired back with just as much negativity and dirt. I'm disappointed in that. Still, I'm more disappointed that Morrison's not been taken to task for his own negativity.)
Endorsement: Kline. Between Morrison's switch of parties and his taking of significant amounts of money from abortionist George Tiller (despite Morrison claiming to be anti-abortion), Morrison has not shown the character necessary for attorney general. While Kline has not run a good campaign, he is by far the better choice because of his strong stand against abortion and his effective work in the past four years.
Prediction: Kline by 1%. Morrison gained initial momentum while Kline's campaign was sitting around on its thumbs. By the time Kline made an attempted comeback, he was forced to go negative, which I fear may turn off a lot of uninformed voters. However, I think the conservative vote and a lot of grassroots efforts will just be enough to allow Kline to squeak by.

U.S. House, District 2
Incumbent: Jim Ryun (R). Challenger: Nancy Boyda (D)
Analysis: Two years ago, Boyda's campaign slogan could have been "I'm just like Jim Ryun." That was all she ever said. She had no good ideas--indeed, no ideas at all--and she still managed to challenge Ryun somehow. This time around, her campaign slogan could easily be "I'm not Jim Ryun," and she still has no ideas. She has no specifics about any plan at all, and seems to be campaigning for change, although she won't say what kind of change she would bring.
Endorsement: Ryun. He's a strong, solid leader who listens to Kansans and votes for their views, even standing up to President Bush when necessary. Ryun has been an effective representative for years, and it would be a shame to lose him just because of frustration with Bush's handling of Iraq.
Prediction: Once again, the Democrat candidate is out-spending the Republican (where is all this money coming from, anyway?). This time, however, I think that Ryun will win. It will be closer than last time because of public irritation with Iraq, but enough of the 2nd district realizes that Boyda is bad for Kansas that she will not win.

Rambling: Nothing to Say

It's been a bad day, and since I don't trust myself to say anything good or interesting right now, I won't post much more.

15 yard penalty....

Rambling: Amusing Moment

I've been working on training my cat to do tricks, such as sit, stand, and roll over. It's become a huge fan of roll over. So much so that tonight, it decided to roll over without me asking it to do so. After completing the roll, it promptly started sniffing around for the food, expecting to get fed for doing a trick that I hadn't asked it to do, yet. That is a case of classical conditioning at its finest. And it's very amusing, too.

Elections are coming up. If you're over 18 and you've registered to vote, get out and vote!