Testing the iPhone

I'm at AT&T testing the new iPhone. I'm not sure what I think of it yet, mostly because it's new and it's hard to tell if I'm struggling with certain features because I'm new to it and would adapt over time or if those features (like a keyboard that's part of the screen) would be permanent hurdles.

Either way, there's no denying that this thing is cool!

Shooting from the hip

I haven't had the time or urge to post lately. I think campaign season just wears me out and I tend to completely shut off to additional information download.

So, here are a few thoughts, in no particular order.

1. I think Obama will win this year, but I'm skeptical that he can repeat in 2012.
2. The Miami Dolphins owner is looking to sell the team before Obama takes office. I can't blame him.
3. Michele Bachmann's recent comments were just stupid. Yes, Chris Matthews put her in a corner. But Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity do that all the time to liberals. If you're a conservative and you're in politics and you choose to go on Chris Matthews' show, you've got to be prepared for that and carry yourself better than that. She really did a disservice to Republicans everywhere.
4. If McCain had run ads like this at the right time, he may have had a chance. It's negative and we're all sick of negative, but it paints a pretty convincing picture.



5. I'm blessed with great friends. Last weekend was spent with a family of 5 who we love and a group of 3 couples from our small group at church. I have no reason to complain about my circumstances in life.

Thanks for reading. I'll try to post sometime before two and a half weeks from now, but I make no promises. Lately, there are other priorities. And that's not a bad thing.

How things change in a month

A month ago I said I thought McCain would win given the existing circumstances.

Well, circumstances have changed. I'm not doing a state-by-state analysis again right now, but suffice it to say that Obama would run away with the election if it were held today. McCain has one more debate to change things. If he fails to do so in that debate, I don't think he'll change things at all. It's time for him to quit doing everything he can not to stumble and start telling it like it is.

And no, the country won't come to a screeching halt if Obama is elected.

$2.94

That's what I paid for each gallon of gas I pumped yesterday.

So much for all of the predictions of $5 and $6 gas. For now anyway...

The purpose of a debate

The purpose of a political debate is not to simply answer the question you are asked. I think you have to know that going into watching a debate. Sure, that's what the moderator wants and in many cases that's what the people would like to see.

But the purpose of a debate is for each candidate to effectively communicate their campaign message. That's it. If a question is asked and the candidate doesn't think his campaign message will be effectively communicated by answering "yes" or "no" to a "yes or no" question, he won't answer "yes" or "no". He will find a way to steer his answer in a direction so that it's consistent with his campaign message.

For example: the moderator asks, "Do you believe that if a pregnant woman dies, a death certificate should also be written for the unborn baby?" The purpose here is presumably to catch the candidate off-guard on a hot button issue, abortion. How would you answer? And isn't that a stupid way to ask the question, "What is your position on abortion?" The candidate may want to communicate his position on abortion, but finds this question rather irrelevant to the abortion debate. So, he steers the question in the direction that he prefers to go.

You may deem some questions worth being answered directly; the candidate, however, may not. So stop expecting them to answer every question directly. Stop hoping they won't attack one another. They're in the middle of a campaign. Everywhere they go their sole purpose is to communicate their campaign message. Understand that and realize that if you expect anything different, you will be disappointed.

Go see this movie

I rarely recommend movies for two reasons. First, there isn't much worth watching. Second, I don't watch much to begin with.

I saw Fireproof a week and a half ago. It's been in the top ten nationally for two weeks and has outperformed its predecessor, Facing the Giants. It's pulling in a very respectable $4,680 per theater.

It's not a movie for kids, but not for the same reason most movies aren't. It's just not a movie most kids would understand. It's about a marital relationship and is most applicable to those in marital relationships.

Watch the movie. And not just because you want to show Hollywood that wholesome movies can do well (because a lot of wholesome movies aren't worth watching). Watch it because it's just a good movie.

Blog Lite

Over the last two weeks I have been:
1. In Chicago for a few days. I got some time with my wife and some of her friends and we went to a Cubs-Cardinals game at Wrigley (birthday gift from my wife, as I'm a big Cardinals fan and have always wanted to see a game at Wrigley)
2. In Duluth for my wife's birthday (using a Christmas gift certificate from my in-laws and Christmas gas and restaurant gift certificates from my parents). In addition to Canal Park, we got some great hiking in at Gooseberry Falls while we were up there.
3. Had oral surgery to have a titanium screw drilled into my jaw bone, where in a few months a crown will be added to give me a shiny new implant where my back molar used to be.

In the middle of all of that, there's been a presidential debate and a vice presidential debate. And I haven't blogged about either one.

Why? Because frankly, I just don't care.

Don't get me wrong. I watched the debates. I put a McCain-Palin bumper sticker on my car. But I'm not that fired up this year. Not enough to warrant more than a few blog posts, anyway.

Maybe as it gets closer to November 4th I'll find the energy. But for now, I've been enjoying time away with my wife - and away from the blog.