The Math Behind the Economic Meltdown

The Election & The Media

I have been thinking about our next president quite a bit since the election, as I'm sure that many have, and I have a few things to say about the campaign(s) as well as a few related subjects. Obama wasn't who I voted for but I'm willing to reserve judgement on him until I see some results with him at the helm. As a side note, he has precious little experience in foreign affairs, in economic affiars, and he has no executive experience of any kind. He makes Sarah Palin look like a seasoned pro at being a chief executive. It is interesting, don't you think, given all the criticism that Palin got for being the governor of a state with such a low population or only being the governor for a few years? Palin was the subject of such focus from the media that was so busy making fun of her and burying her with ridicule that they didn't have the time to point out that Barack Obama had much more severe shortcomings in the same areas than she did - and he was running in the #1 slot. This brings me to my first point.

The media was(and is) in love, as a whole, with the thought of having Obama as president. Having a black man in the oval office was a story that was just too good to pass up and they found themselves just fawning all over him while at the same time portraying McCain as a cranky old guy who didn't know how to use a computer. The positive coverage was very one-sided. Nothing seemed to stick to Obama, nothing was ever really a problem. No matter what the controversy, it just seemed to go away.

Racism. Yes, it still occurs, as much as it pains me to admit it, but not always in the ways that people think. It has been estimated that between 94%-97% of voting black americans voted for Obama. Hmmmm....so, voting black americans all independently studied the issues, looked at the candidates and 97% of them came to the conclusion that the best man for the job was the same race as themselves? Put another way, would 97% of all caucasians voting for McCain have aroused any suspicions from the media? On the other hand, perhaps having a black man in office will restore some of the trust in the federal goverment that has been absent in the black community.

John McCain. A war hero that deserved better from the media. He served 5 1/2 years in the Hanoi Hilton, which, incidentaly, is longer than Obama has served in the Senate. McCain has been a U.S. Senator for 22 years. He is a recipient of the Navy Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star. He has a much longer track record in service to his country than Obama. Obama's track record is in service to the democratic party.

I hope that Barack Obama turns out to be a good or(I hope) a great president. He could do a lot of good. I just wish that both candidates had been treated by the media with as much respect as he was.

Meet Sophie




Sophie is a 12 week old Dalmation pup that we just adopted from Denton city animal shelter(the 'pound'). She was sick for a few days( & we had to drop a few $$$s at the vet) but she seems to be feeling better now.


Ranger was initially cautious about the new arrival






But then started to warm up to her





Now, they hang out some but Ranger is still jealous of the new doggie.


Ranger & Sophie hanging out in the back yard:







Ranger does NOT like Sophie to be in her sandbox




Sophie chewing on a toy:

Working at Wal-Mart

I've been working part-time at walmart for over 4 months now, trying to both keep myself busy and to help ends meet. Its been an adventure, although not always a fun one. I thought that I would take a few minutes to describe what its like working there.

First the management hierarchy:

There's the Manager of the store, Bruce.

Then there are 10 assistant managers that report to Bruce. Each one is responsible for the day to day operations of a couple of departments. The one responsible for the Garden Center(where I work) is Matt.

There are 4(or 5?) zone managers. This is a newly created position(because, after all, you can't have too many managers...). These are assistants to the assistant managers. But that's too hard to say so they call them zone managers. The one over the garden center is Katie.

Then there are the Department managers. They are exactly what the title says - they manage the deparment. The one over the gc is Heather. She's only been there for about six weeks or so. She replaced Gene who got promoted to zone manager. Heather moved over from being the pet department manager.


Then there is me. Well, me and my co-workers in the garden center. I won't introduce everyone right now, rather I'll do it as I mention each one.

And we move on...


The gc has been consumed with setting up for Christmas the last 10 days. That's right, Christmas starts in October at walmart. Anyhow, that's what we've been doing all day every day. Putting stuff on shelves, printing labels, hauling merchandise from the receiving area, etc.... I wouldn't call it fun but I would rather be doing it than unloading a truck or doing a buggy rally, which I sometimes have to do anyways. More on that later.

Heather has been doing a nice job making sure that all the merchandise and displays have been getting put up in a timely manner. She's only 21 but she has some good organizational skills. And a good sense of humor which isn't everything to morale but it sure helps.

Let's see...what's the latest.... Ah yes, the wreaths. I spent several hours putting wreaths on the shelf yesterday. I had no idea that there was so much freakin' glitter in wreaths. And it gets all over. By the end of the day I looked like Glenda the Good Witch's mutant cousin, Ed.

A couple of pictures of co-workers:

Ryan(in one of his more dignified moments):



Julie




More later.

Lake Ray Roberts

A couple of weeks ago we went to Lake Ray Roberts for a couple of hours to grill some burgers and enjoy the scenery. It was fun, though a bit crowded.





At first Ranger was timid about getting in the water.



But soon she was swimming(movie).



A few more Ranger pictures...

Ranger just after a bath:



Ranger resting in her sandbox:



Ranger 'wrastling' at the dog park:



Ranger fetching a ball in the pond behind the park:



Ranger greeting M after she gets home from work. Notice the tail:


And, to finish the entry for today, here is a short movie featuring Ranger getting a ball in the pond. Notice the other, younger, dog in the frame splashing around just as Ranger did a few months ago:

California Trip


In June we went out to Southern California to visit friends. Here are a few pictures from the trip. Included are photos from Seaworld, California Adventure Park(Disneyland, part deux), Berk's birthday party, Walt Disney Hall, and Disneyland.

Ranger Asleep

Since the texas heat makes it too hot too play outside most days, Ranger routinely takes naps inside during the afternoon. I snapped this one about a week ago when she seemed particularly out of it.






Here, you can see me eating the first cantaloupe out of our garden. It wasn't particularly big(probably due to the fact that we planted late) but it was tasty.

Family Visit

Our nieces and nephew visited us last week. They all seemed to have a good time.

Some pictures from our excursion to Chucky Cheese's:










Here, Josie is helping Ranger to stand guard:




Josie wants to hug Ranger but Ranger won't cooperate:




Reagan playing tug with Ranger:




Daniel playing tug with Ranger:

Ranger has a new friend

Our neighbors across the street, who moved in about a month ago, just got a dog about Ranger's age. Her name is Deliliah and she's a Great Dane. And she's huge!

More Garden Photos

The garden has been looking well lately, though we don't have any fruit yet.



From left to right, each row contains:

1. Squash
2. Cucumber, Jalapeño
3. Watermelon
4. Cantaloupe
5. Pumpkin
6. Strawberry
7. Tomato: Cherry, Roma, Big Boy - 2 each


Dog Days of Denton

We went to a dog festival in Denton today, though it was rather warm. Ranger seemed to have a good time, particularly when we found a tub of ice that had been set aside for dogs that were getting too hot. She knew just what to do with it:




Then she dug furiously for about 15 seconds:



Then she just wallowed in it:

Family Reunion(s)

This past weekend we attended 2 reunions; mine and hers. First we headed to Magnolia, Arkansas and visited family assembled there for the weekend.









Becky walked the 5k that was put on as part of the blossom festival:






Ranger & Shasta: "Clash of the doggies"

They provided hours of free entertainment for us.











Other reunion photos here.


When it was time to go to the other reunion, Ranger wanted the front seats all to herself.






After a while, though, she settled down and laid her head on my leg. But soon, she started inching up my lap:





At the next stop, M got out and tried get into the back seat to help Ranger go to sleep. Ranger, though, had other plans. With M out of the way, she took her 'rightful' place in the front.



After about 5 hours of driving, we arrived at the reunion in Freestone, TX:


There was LOTS of driving that day.