Edwards Drops out of the Race

Well, my favorite presidential candidate has dropped out of the running. I wonder if there's any room left in the Obama camp...

He never really had a chance, regardless of his platform. The media didn't pay attention to him, because he wasn't a former first lady, and he wasn't poised to make racial history. Unfortunately, media is a huge part of the election - both in swaying votes and in broadcasting a platform.

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day about generational differences. One of the things that was mentioned was that it seems to take longer for some people to go over something that our generation can do in a short amount of time. I think it’s because we were raised on sound bites, and MTV, and grabbing headlines from the internet, and ticker bars on TSN. We can process large amounts of information at a higher rate than those from previous generations.

I'm basing most of this as an observation on the people in my office, which is a very small and specific sample population. It could just be that I work with people who are long winded.

I saw a billboard yesterday that made me laugh out loud (LOL), literally (LOLL), while driving.

It was for an aggressive ad campaign for Shreddies. The cereal. They now come in a new shape! Diamond.
Brilliant.

Lake Placid

Note: I was doing some housekeeping on my blog and found a post that I had saved but never published. It's from a few months back, so it's not too current. Anyway, here it is.

I went to Lake Placid for a few days between Christmas and New Years. I needed a change of pace, a change of scenery, and some adventure. My good friend Carlo joined me in the journey.

Lake Placid is a winter paradise. If you like winter and winter-ish activities, it's the place to be. There's snowshoeing trails, cross country skiing trails, downhill skiing, snowboarding, skating, and a whole host of Olympic type activities. We nearly went bobsledding, but decided to spend the money on food and beer instead. It was a good choice.

One of the lessons learned in this trip was how to walk out of a restaurant after looking at the menu, if it's not the place you want to be. We endured a horrid breakfast the first morning and made a point of only eating at places that we were sure would give us what we wanted. We were, after all, on vacation, and to be treated like royalty. I'm not really a pretentious snob, but when I'm paying almost $10 for breakfast, I'd at least like bacon that isn't paper thin and breaks into a million tiny pieces when you bit down on it. I also don't want it served to me on a plastic plate, with plastic cutlery.
This place, the Adirondack Steak and Seafood Restaurant, was a far cry from plastic utensils. We had awesome local beers, prime rib, and other awesome food. What an improvement.

2008

I guess it's time to write something. It's a new year, and I need to prove Bono wrong. The new year is supposed to usher in change. When you flip the calendar over from December to January, you're given a clean slate, a fresh start. I'm also glad that Jesus chose to be born on December 25th, thus giving us a good excuse for a week off in the middle of winter. At some time during that week, sometimes intentionally, sometimes out of habit, I contemplate the year that is winding down, and the year that is approaching. I think about the good, the bad, and where I want to improve, where I want to reduce, where I want to change.
This year, I resolve to read more. Books, magazines, novels, the Bible.
I got 'The gum thief" by Douglas Coupland for Christmas, and had it read before boxing day could be crossed off the calendar. When I sit down with a good book, it's hard to put it down.
I think I have addictive traits. I watched season 3 of lost in a matter of days. I couldn't stop. I needed to know what happened next. And when it was done, I just wanted season 4 to start.

I'm learning how to bake. I've always considered myself a decent cook - entre's and such, but as soon as you need to accurately measure out teaspoons and tablespoons of ingredients and mix/stir/beat, I get lost in the details. Every couple of months I host my small group bible study at my house, which basically means I have to clean up a bit, make a pot of coffee, boil some water for tea, and provide a dessert/snack. Well, for a while I was getting mocked by the others in the group for my continual purchasing of baked goods. So, I decided to start making my own. So, last time I started simple and made some apple crisp. It's hard to go wrong with apple crisp. It's far easier to go right. Apples, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, a bit of nutmeg, some oatmeal, and a bit more brown sugar. So good. Top it off with some vanilla ice cream and everyone's happy. Well, last night I decided to step it up a notch and make brownies - from scratch. Damn, they were good. I even made the frosting from scratch. My proudest moment was when I had to make an espresso as one of the ingredients for the frosting. How awesome is that.

Other resolutions. Spend less time blogging at work....

On that note. My break is over. My leftover brownie is gone, except for a few crumbs in my beard.

Here's to 2008. May it be as good, or even better, than 2007.