Post-election stress disorder

It was a long, long day on Tuesday when I volunteered to be a poll greeter for the campaigns of Rodger Koopman and Russ Stephenson. My feet hit the floor at 5 AM and I basically wasn’t off my feet until midnight that night.

After showering that morning, I threw my umbrella, a folding chair, and a bunch of campaign signs into the car and headed out to nearby polling places to make sure signs were out. Then I picked up more from Rodger’s house and headed north.

I arrived at my assigned polling place at 6:35 to find the parking lot full already. My Odom counterpart, Collin, was already there greeting voters. I set up my chair closer to the “no campaigning past this sign” limit, held up my sign and smiled in the drizzle at the disinterested voters who walked past.
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This blog is turkey based

I stopped into Subway for lunch in-between working the polls yesterday and ordered myself a Cold Cut Combo. It was then I saw an odd notice on the menu board:

“All meats are turkey based.”

I couldn’t help but interrupt the woman making my sandwich.

“Excuse me, what does that statement ‘all meats are turkey based’ mean?”

“It means all the meat is turkey,” she answered without looking up.

I was incredulous. “Even the ham?”

“Yes, even the ham.”

I’ve got nothing against turkey – I eat it frequently. When you’re selling a sandwich meant to have turkey and ham in it you expect to get real ham.

Maybe the next time I pay for my Subway sub, I’ll hand them money with a disclaimer that says “all currency is newspaper-based.” We’ll see how they like that!

Election Night

My friend Rodger Koopman lost his Raleigh City Council District B race to John Odom. I spent the day outside a polling place meeting voters and asking them to support Rodger. My sense around midday was that Rodger was getting one out of three votes – a prediction that was eerily accurate when my precinct’s numbers came in.

Though it might seem otherwise at first glance, elections are not won or lost on election day: by then it’s too late. If you haven’t done your homework in the weeks leading up to the election there’s little you can do to turn it around at the last hour. I’m still analyzing what went wrong but it’s a shame that a fine candidate like Rodger Koopman won’t get another term.

Election Day

Tuesday is Election Day, where Raleigh will be voting for candidates for mayor and city council. I’m taking the day off to work the polls for Rodger Koopman and Russ Stephenson. Then afterward I hope to celebrate some victories at some downtown establishments.

You won’t get much blogging from me for the next 24 hours. Hopefully the next post will be a positive one!

U2 yesterday and today

U2 plays Carter-Finley Stadium tomorrow night, so I asked Kelly if she’s ever seen them. She said she had, so I jokingly asked her how much her ticket cost. That sent her marching into the attic to fetch a handful of ticket stubs. Proof!

Tickets for tomorrow night’s show start at $100. Kelly saw them play at Maryland’s Capital Centre in 1985 for a whopping $13.50! That’s less than the Ticketmaster fees tacked on to tomorrow night’s show. Even tomorrow’s $20 parking fee is more expensive!

Michael Jordan’s net worth

For some reason, MT.Net has been deluged with Yahoo searches for “Michael Jordan’s net worth.” This leads folks to my earlier musing about the legends surrounding Jordan.

Yahoo is running this story on their front page about His Airness buying a rather large house in Jupiter, Florida. There is a tiny link under the headline “Michael Jordan’s Costly Mansion” that runs the search. So essentially MT.Net is one step away from being linked to from Yahoo’s home page.

(And for those of you who were wondering, Michael Jordan’s net worth is estimated to be somewhere north of $400 million.)

Juggling breakthrough

This evening when I put my juggling balls back into the air again, I noticed a startling effect. For a moment I felt as if I had all day to catch the falling balls! My mind was completely in tune with the falling objects.

Athletes talk about being “in the zone.” Today I was in the zone with my juggling. It’s a great feeling and a sure sign that my juggling is coming along nicely.

Netflix’s plan to take over the world

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This month Wired magazine spills the beans on how Netflix plans to take over the world – or at least make your cable company irrelevant:

Today, nearly 3 million users access Netflix’s instant streaming service, watching an estimated 5 million movies and TV shows every week on their PCs or living room sets. They get it through Roku’s player, which was successfully launched in May 2008 …. They get it through their Xbox 360s—Microsoft added Netflix to its Xbox Live service last fall. They get it through LG and Samsung Blu-ray players. They get it through their TiVos and new flatscreen TVs. By the end of 2009, nearly 10 million Netflix-equipped gadgets will be hanging on walls and sitting in entertainment centers. And Hastings says this is just the beginning: “It’s possible that within a few years, nearly all Internet-connected consumer electronics devices will include Netflix.”

You know your Time Warner stock? I’d suggest you short-sell it, pronto. Netflix isn’t through with changing the media game – permanently!