October 14, 2008
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Winding Down from Vacation
Sorry for the delay. I haven’t been busy, I’ve just been “unwinding” (= lazy).
Nashville
First, Nashville was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I had to fly out on Eid instead of the day before, since I waited too long and flying out on the 30th would’ve added $500 to my ticket price–which was already expensive.
It was great getting to see my family again. This was actually the longest time I’ve spent in Nashville (a whole week) since I moved back to the DC area. It was great getting to catch up, and spend time with my mother, sister, and father.
Although I must say, I got my fill of watching the news. I might have articulated before my extreme dislike of 24-hour news networks (i.e., Fox, CNN, and MSNBC), and I tended to watch that in the daytime. Eh… Although, I did switch to CNBC on Wednesday.
…great timing.
I also got to watch the debates (the VP debate, and the second Pres debate–that took place in Nashville, no less). I’ve been having some thoughts on that… I’ll mention them a little later.
Atlanta
Second, I went to Atlanta to watch my sister defend her doctoral thesis. I really… had a hard time following the details of it… but she did great, I say.
I had to resist the temptation to ask a silly question at the end. Basically, what I had in mind was:
Me: Ah, one question… Coming from an economics background, my main curiosity is which one of those three bioreactors was the most cost-effective for your experiments?
T: That would likely be the PCC.
Me: Thank you. And a follow-up question. How soon until you think we’ll be mass-producing cartilage for human consumption? It’s one of the best parts of the chicken, you know.
T: … … …Winding Up for the Election
Anyway, the next month I think is going to be pretty exciting. My favored candidate is continuing to do well, and isn’t letting up the fervor of his campaign. And what’s best, he’s maintaining this campaign while focusing on the things that matter, instead of getting pounded by ridiculous smear tactics.
But, I don’t like talking vaguely; I prefer precision. Now, I generally don’t like making political commentary on here–I figure you can always read the news and make up your own mind–yet, there’s a lot this year that affects me personally. So, I’m going to break with that trend for the next month.
Responses to the debates (from a debater’s perspective), the specific reasons I support Obama, my concern about civil rights, my concern for my own religious freedom, the tone the G.O.P. has taken lately… I know only a few folks even read this, and I write this mainly for my own benefit. But hey, I started this to talk about things that happen to me, and things that affect me. And this is one year where that justifies talking about the upcoming election.
I’ve decided to start this Thursday after the third and final presidential debate, and I’ll try to update more frequently until Election Day. KF
