Internet radio weirdness

I'm listening to the Wisconsin football game via Yahoo! Sports. They transmit the statewide network radio broadcast. It's really funny sitting here in my Manhattan apartment listening to ads for farm equipment and soybean seeds.

Headline fail

John McCain Pick from Left Field: Sarah Who?

No, she's from right field. In fact, she's over the foul line.

From Overheard in the Office

IT guy: Your laptop is not booting up because you have a stuck function key. What happened, anyway?

Rep (refusing to make eye contact): Yeah, I ... uhhh, think I dropped something on it.

It guy: Like what?!

Rep: Ummm yeah, well, like my fist.

via Overheard in the Office, Aug 28, 2008

Question of the day

Can Gov. Palin spell "potato?"

Obama goes to the ball park and hits a home run

Some people, especially Republicans, say they are underwhelmed by Obama's acceptance speech. They expected (or at least wanted) a fiery over-the-top call to the Democratic troops to go out and spread the liberal word to rest of America. Instead, Obama delivered a forceful, but controlled, summary of the failures of the Bush-McCain program and a rationale for electing him President. He laid out specifics. He looked for areas of agreement, and gave little ammunition to those that would want to wedge off hunks of undecided voters. It was precisely the speech that was needed at this point.

Sorry, Republicans. Obama isn't going to be a predictable, easy target for you.

Plat du jour

Only 1 Michigan? I dunno.

That is to say, I don't know if that's what the license plate means. I do know there is only one Michigan (unless you count Upper Michigan as a different one, of course).

Semi-random thoughts

● As you may have surmised, I was pre-occupied with the Olympics for a couple weeks. (I'll put together a post with my thoughts on the Games sometime soon.) This week it's the Democratic National Convention and the U.S. Tennis Open that are taking up my time--not to mention the pile of mail that accumulated while I was watching the Olympics. I will try to resume my posting frequency, however.

● Since I finally shook off the cold that was plaguing me for a couple weeks, I've resumed exercising every day. Yay me!

● I don't remember ever needing to repair any of my refrigerators in my entire life even once. But now it's twice for the current one. It's making a strange, groaning noise (which, strangely, stops when I open the freezer drawer). I will grant that this is the first one that has an ice-maker/cold water dispenser (which is what failed the first time), but it sure seems that they don't make them the same way they used to. (UPDATE: Unsurprisingly, it was the ice maker motor. We were advised that as long as it's continuing to make ice it isn't worth replacing. Also, turning up the thermostat (i.e. letting the freezer get a little warmer) might make the noise disappear.)

● I think it's a little sad that some of Hillary Clinton's supporters can't get over the fact that she lost (a couple of my Facebook friends continue to post anti-unity things). What I've noticed is that some of the most vehement Hillary die-hards are gay men. They seem to have invested so much of their own identity in her campaign. It’s as if they feel that having a woman president is as close to having a gay man elected as they’ll ever get.

● On Saturday the University of Wisconsin Badgers start the football season with a game against the Akron Zips. The Zips???!! Who in their right mind names an athletic team the Zips? (I sure hope they're no relation to Appalachian State.)

Weekly free associations

1. Cry :: laugh


2. Stretch :: out


3. Efficient :: good


4. Brunch :: lunch


5. Afro :: hair


6. Preheat :: oven


7. Delicious :: apple


8. Global warming :: crisis


9. Actions :: reactions


10. Ride :: walk