Winter...

Yesterday there was frost on the ground. Our electric blanket has been used twice this week. The mornings and evenings are getting dark. Even though I'm still wearing a short sleave shirt to work with no jacket the season has changed. Let the long winter stretch begin as my depression sets in...

Politics 3

I think the old adage that if the economy is good the incumbent party wins and if the economy is bad the opposing party wins is about to play out.

I get at least one email a day from a concerned friend passing along a detailed account of why it is party X's fault we are in this economic mess. Of course one day its from a Republican friend and the next its from a Democratic friend. Some things just don't change.

Maybe I will vote this week to get the drama over with. I still have yet to decide. Barr is looking pretty good at this point...

Stuff...

- The Bosox went down in the 7th game. Nobody took their eyes off of them until that final out was done because those guys prove over and over again how scrappy they are. Funny how a few years ago the Red Sox were everyone's favorite underdog (besides the Cubs) and now they are the dynasty winning machine. So overnight the world has become Ray's fans. Its a great story, I'm on board.

- Fall is here :-( And looming is the worst day of the year for me. We shall not speak of the day when the clock hands move in the middle of the night 1 hour.

- The wife and I are secretly lamenting our age. It seems to be that point when you realize everything really has changed and you are on the other side of it. I recently had 2 great aunts die. One from my Dad's side, one from my Mom's side. Both of these were the last of their generation in our family. So my Mom pointed out that now they have moved up into that oldest generation slot and therefore I have moved up in the order as well! doh!

- My answer to polotics and a bad ecomony is sports. Give me college football, MLB and NFL so I can ignore the problems of the world!

- It's time to retire the traditional Elvis mask I wear on Holloween. I need something new, going to have to make a mask run.

- The Texas State Fair has come and gone again and I didn't make it, again :-(

- I'm not going to miss the King Tut exhibit

- Happy Monday.

Baseball

You got to love playoff baseball. Last night's Red Sox come back was amazing and exciting! Within two innings to go from being down 7-0 and winning 7-8 was incredible! The bad part is I wish both teams could win. Not sure Bosox have it to come back all the way this time though.

Looking forward to some more games like this.

More Politics

Things are heating up. We were discussing this the other day.

Person 1: "I vote straight regardless of what the name is. It doesn't matter who the actual person is and I'd never vote any other way." This person went on to say almost everyone is this way and that its rare for people to vote based on the person and to not follow a strict party line.

I have to admit I do see this behavior from the majority of the people. I guess I'm in the minority. Although I have been registered with one party all my voting life on every election I decide based on the information I have on the person running and party is just part of the equation.

Person 2: "I'm not registered to vote and have never been registered to vote. I have no opinion and just don't want to be a part of it."

I can see a lot of people opting for this as well. The alternative is to seek opinion of others and that usually goes down the path of there is only one right choice...

Politics

I'm pretty a-political but had to comment on this. Yesterday I was behind a car that had two bumper stickers on it. The first was "Protect America, Nobama" and the second was just "NO" with the O being the Obama logo.

So this person took the time to adhere two bumper stickers to their car for what they were against. Yet they did not bother to add any sticker to endorse who they were FOR!

That's politics in a nutshell....

Back from Austin

It was good times and a plethora of live music. We festivaled all day and then went to an after show each night. Austin is the live music capital of the world so its only fitting that it have such a festival. Much like New Orleans' Jazz Fest its a community event instead of just a concert production.

We got to see a lot of great bands including the unknowns to the well known. The varieties in the line up keep things interesting all the time. And the intimate after shows were a nice addition to the festival this year (that's Jakob Dylan in the picture).

Thanks Austin!