Buying Into the Market

We've been waiting to hit a low day to buy into some mutual funds, trying to judge when the market would drop. Today it could have gone +700 if Congress passed the bailout, -700 if not. Last night we decided today was the day. We put in an order to buy, guessing they wouldn't pass it. They did not. So a little good news for us amidst the sucky news.

The market could continue spiraling downward, and that's okay with me. Either way, we hit a definite low. Eventually it'll go back up. I shall wait.

In a related note, I am amused that Democrats are acting like Republicans and Republicans like Dems lately. Suddenly Republicans have sympathy for a teen mom and her family. Democrats are wildly supporting Bush's Bailout plan. Crazy, I tell ya.

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So Funny- SNL

R.O.F.L. "...I wanna phone a friend."

The Couric/Palin SNL open from Saturday

And the Monday Morning Meme

1. How do you define happiness?
Happiness is having a real appreciation for life, even when things aren't going well at a particular moment.

2. What did you have for breakfast?
During the week, I almost always have a SlimFast for breakfast. It's easy and portable.

3. On a scale of one to ten, how sick are you of the presidential campaign? Do you talk about politics on your blog? What about in real life? Why or why not?
I'm sick of it to about a 9. I talk about politics on my blog sometimes, mostly to vent or just put particular thoughts in writing. I have many unpublished posts that I took time writing, only to decide they weren't for public consumption. It's therapeutic. I talk a lot about politics in real life. It's what everyone is talking about.

4. What about your life today would surprise your teen-aged self?
That I'm a stay-at-home mom and loving it. Also that I live in Austin.

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Bookmarks Missing Firefox 3

I've had to switch back and forth between Firefox 2 and 3 because version 3 has a couple of issues that negatively impact both my browsing and my typically perky mood. I think those issues are finally worked out in this latest update, so I'm back to it for the third time.

If you are switching back and forth, you will lose your bookmark changes. To get your current version 2 bookmarks back after reinstalling Firefox 3, use the methods described here.

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Laura and Kathy Show: The Economic Crisis

Laura and I discussed politics and the economy at length last night. Usually we have these issues figured out in about 15 minutes, but the current state of affairs is, quite frankly, a bit overwhelming for our little show. I told her I want to be psyched about Obama, but because of all the politics-as-usual bickering and side-stepping by both candidates, voting for the lesser of two evils is all I can muster for the moment. She said she would make me a t-shirt that says, "Obama. At least he's not Sarah Palin." LOL. Yeah, wouldn't she love to see me in a Democrat t-shirt.

And speaking of the Laura and Kathy Show, I apologize for not posting the rest of the "Hotties Of..." series. Someone *cough* never got back to me with commentary on our Hotties of the Gay Community. And we couldn't find any Hotties of the Republican Party or Hotties of High Tech. Bummer!


A meme from Sunday Stealing

Have you ever…

1. gone on a blind date? a couple, yes. neither of them good.

2. skipped school? once on Senior Skip Day

3. watched someone die? yes

4. been on a plane? yes

5. been on the opposite side of your country? yes

6. swam in the ocean? yes bajillions of times

7. had your booze taken away by the cops? yes at Bonfire

8. lettered in high school sport? I lettered in Journalism, where I was the Sports reporter for a year. Does that count?

9. cried yourself to sleep? yes

10. played cops and robbers? yes

11. sung karaoke? no I've never let myself get intoxicated enough

12. paid for a meal with coins only? yes

13. done something you told yourself you wouldn’t? yes too many times

14. cheated on an exam? once, in fourth grade, and the girl gave me the wrong capital of North Carolina. She was FROM North Carolina! Yeesh.

15. made prank phone calls? yes

16. laughed until some sort of beverage came out of your nose? no

17. caught a snowflake on your tongue? yes

18. written a letter to Santa Claus? yes

19. watched the sunrise with someone you care about? yes

20. been kissed under the mistletoe? yes

21. ever been arrested? no

22. gone ice skating? yes

23. been skinny dipping outdoors? no. is there indoor skinny dipping?

24. had a nickname? yes, a few

25. been on TV? yes, when I met Gordie Howe in third grade

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The Driving Adventure Begins

Lauren has begun the classroom portion of Drivers Ed. Wow. They let kids drive? Really? It's just so... weird. Seems like only yesterday she and I were having a daily discussion of when she would be tall enough to ride in the front seat.

I have 'til mid-November to mentally prepare for her obtaining an instruction permit so I can teach her the behind-the-wheel stuff. Until then, she's doing an online course at her leisure, with electronic exams and cool videos, etc. I'm good with that for the moment. :)

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Songs Skipping in iTunes

Found a fix that worked for me for songs skipping like a scratch when I have other programs running. (Didn't have this problem until I downloaded iTunes 8.)

Open your Control Panel, click Quicktime, click the Audio tab and check the box next to Safe Mode. Then make sure the Sound Out size below that is set to 16 bit.

Be sure to close and re-open iTunes. Ta-da!

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Finish This Sentence...

From Sunday Stealing

1. My uncle once coaxed my aunt into an oven.

2. Never in my life have I gone skinny-dipping.

3. When I was five my parents were separated for a little while, but I don't remember it.

4. High school was awesome!

5. I will never forget to check the tape in the video camera to make sure it is at the end of the last shot before I start taping.

6. Once I met Jason Seahorn at a charity golf game.

7. There’s this boy I know who takes Drama during his lunch period.

8. Once, at a bar, Jeff pretended to ask me to marry him after we were already engaged. We wanted to see if we could get a free drink.

9. By noon, I’m making sure I have everything I need to make dinner.

10. Last night I was up from 3:30 -6 am, SO nauseated from these antibiotics. Four more days...

11. If only I had a pool and a pool guy to take care of it.

12. Next time I go to church I need to see if April is there.

13. What worries me most is the possibility of Sarah Palin being President.

14. When I turn my head left I see Jeff's rocket construction area.

15. When I turn my head right I see photos and my Duran Duran Rolling Stone from '84.

16. You know I’m lying when I -- I don't know. I don't think you'll know.

17. What I miss most about the Eighties is the cool hair.

18. If I were a character in Shakespeare I’d be-- uh, I dunno.

19. By this time next year I will have a new master bathroom.

20. A better name for me would be Angelina Jolie.

21. I have a hard time understanding principles of electrical engineering.

22. If I ever go back to school, I’ll hopefully go as a teacher.

23. You know I like you if I ask questions about what's going on in your life.

24. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be my mom.

25. Take my advice, never leave your speakers turned all the way up after blasting your music.

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David Cook's New Single Release to Radio

"Light On" releases to radio tonight. iTunes on Sep 30. Album Nov 18.

Wanna hear the new single right now? Go here:
http://www.davidcookofficial.com/

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Random Tuesday

Randomness:

Heard Obama say he was going to cut spending on something. That's a good thing. Also heard Biden is very unhappy with some negative ad Obama ran making fun of McCain personally. I'm happy to hear Biden speak up, even though it's not great for the campaign. No blind party loyalty there. Just a guy with his own opinion. Hooray!

The Emmys were so boring on Sunday that I turned it off. I also hate watching actors talk about politics at an awards show. I just don't care what they think on that subject, quite honestly. Celebrities are about as disconnected from the average American family as politicians are.

One of my favorite all-time SpongeBob quotes--
Don't stand too close to a squirrel, Billy. You'll catch its "stupid."

I didn't watch "Dancing with the Stars," but I did see Lance's dance online. Supposedly the best of the night. He looked awesome! Not sure about the hair, but he did a great job.

And this... awww...

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Saturday Replay

Man, the Ags looked awful yesterday. I can make all sorts of excuses for them- and I have- but in the end they just made me cringe. On to Army next week!

Went with friends to Salt Lick last night. SO awesome. I'd love to buy a gallon of their sauce, but something tells me it wouldn't have much of a shelf life. After we were all in a food coma, we came back here and played CatchPhrase. As is tradition, I present the Priceless CatchPhrase Moment of the night (the Moment sounds like it needs a corporate sponsor-lol):

Word- "boning knife"
Me: It's the thing you cut raw chicken with.
Jeff: Boner.

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The Last...

Who is the last person...

you hung out with? Scott K and Julie, Kirsten, Lauren and Jeff
to message you on MySpace? Diane
who emailed you? Sara
you emailed? Tammy
you were in the car with? Lauren
you went to a movie with? Lauren and Jeff
you went to a concert with? Kathy
made you laugh? Scott K
you hugged? Lauren
you kissed? Jeff
to tell you they loved you? Jeff
called you? Scott K
you called? CJ
you texted? Lauren
texted you? Lauren
helped you with a problem? Scotty
you ate with? Scott K and Julie, Kirsten, Lauren and Jeff

What/when is/was the last:

thing you said? Told Jeff, "Blogger says it schedules future blog posts, but that feature doesn't work."
thing you ate? a granola bar
thing you did? removed an event from one of my websites
time you drank alcohol? about a week ago
time you played a sport? yesterday- Speedminton
place you drove to? the high school
song you listened to? are you kidding- "Come On Get Higher" by Matt Nathanson
movie you watched? Burn After Reading
color you painted your nails? OPI "Smok'n in Havana"
time you looked at the clock? 10:45 am
time you took a shower? last night
went to the mall? last Tuesday
ran a mile? college
bought something? Friday night- groceries for the weekend
book you read? Hollywood Girls Club by Maggie Marr
time you sang? this morning in the car
thing you wore? black capris and a salmon-colored top

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Ike and the Friday Five

I saw that Virginia Point (the little neighborhood by the causeway on the north side) was absolutely erased during Ike. Amazing. There's just nothing there anymore. It's funny, you can watch TV coverage and understand the destruction in a place, but when it's your area, and you know the landmarks and what things looked like before, it's so much more disturbing.

Cathy is the worst off of my friends down there. The look-and-leave in Galveston has been cancelled, so she has to wait another week to check it out. David also lives in Galveston. They're in Waco for the moment, but he heard his house is still standing.

My cousin is fan drying her soppy carpets, now that her power is back on. She's loaned her generators to her neighbor across the street, whose power is still out. She also has a large tree on her roof over her master bedroom, so she's sleeping in the living room. She's happy to report that she is no longer sporting her "no electricity hair" at work.

My other friends fared well. Just downed trees and trash mostly. Thank goodness for that.

I saw that the people who have been cruising on the Conquest returned to port (in Houston) to find out all their cars had been destroyed. What a nightmare.

Friday Five- "No Way"

1. Who lets you have your way more than you should?
Um... nobody!

2. According to the cliche, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but what’s the way to yours?
I'm a sucker for a good sense of humor. Like George Clooney. It's not about the looks for me. He's just so funny. OK. I actually typed that with a straight face.

3. What’s something that should have been put away but hasn’t been?
All my fancy lingerie has been stored in a paper shopping bag in my closet for the past year or so, since our new dresser doesn't have space for it.

4. When did you last weigh yourself?
Yesterday.

5. What do the cops in the donut shop say? :D
Waaay-ohhh-waaaay-ohhh

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Drown Me in Looooooooove

It's been a long while since I was really into a song. Like SUPER-excited when it comes on the radio. It's Matt Nathanson's "Come on Get Higher." I've been blasting it all day long. Looks like the album came out in 2007 and the song vid came out in March. Why is my radio station just playing it now?!

...Just pull me down hard
And drown me in love...

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Candidates Still Vague on Issues

So, can either candidate finally give us concrete proposals, rather than generalities at this point? Stop saying "I'm for *insert your favorite issue here*" and tell us how they're going to implement a plan?

Obama, McCain blame economic woes on greed, policy

WASHINGTON - ...In a dizzying day of speeches and statements, neither White House hopeful offered any fresh ideas for turning things around. Instead each relied on the same vague, though vastly different, pitches he has sounded over the past few months for fixing what ails the country.

And they didn't emphasize that they are part of the Congress that has done little to head off the crisis...

From here

In other news, it was really nice to spend a couple of hours with Melissa, one of my old work friends, yesterday. After becoming an associate director and working for a couple of other CRO's, she's a pharma data management consultant now, working mostly from home. Very cool.

We had some excitement here last night when a grass fire erupted at the end of the street. Between the fire department and 35 vigilant neighbors, it took about 3 hours to put it out. There's a good 15 houses between mine and the fire, but it's still freaky.

And something I happened upon: Funny Facebook Status Updates

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Vista

Lauren's computer died for the umpteenth time, so we finally bought her a new one. It's an HP Pavilion Slimline s3500f that has a tiny box, about 8.5 x 11 x 4 inches. The thing is faster and has more capacity than my pc. (What?!) She loves Vista, because of all the pretty customization options it has. Who knew.

Curious as a Cat

1) Are you a leader or a follower?
I hate this question. I am more often a leader than a follower. I am most comfortable as the leader's "right-hand man." I'm a VP type of person.

2) Who is the person you are most candid with?
Laura.

3) What one thing in your life would be easiest to change, but you’ve never gotten around to it?
The 80's disaster that is my master bathroom. Must remodel soon.

4) If you could convince any single person to change his or her mind about one thing, who would you pick and what topic would you work on?
I would convince Kathy that life is richer when you have passionate feelings about things. Although I do envy her stoicism at times.

5) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.



Hmm. I don't have any owl stories. This guy looks awfully irritated that someone is taking his picture.

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Burn After Reading

So, Ike has passed. My friends are OK, although CJ's apartment in Galveston may or may not be.

I am one of those people yelling through my television at the idiots who ignored the mandatory evacuation. ('Round here we call that "Darwinism at work.") If they are willing to take whatever they have coming, fine, but it really ticks me off when they later call 911 and put rescuers' lives at risk. There should be a very steep fine imposed on everyone who asks for help after purposely staying behind during a mandatory evac. And anyone who stays with their children should be prosecuted for child endangerment. Just sayin'.

Burn After Reading was hilarious. Pitt absolutely steals the show. Clooney is incredibly hot and amusing as usual, although he does look suspiciously as if he's been Mystic Tanning. I loved Francis McDormand's self-obsessed character, too. And now we have a whole new slew of Coen movie quotes!

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Ike and the Saturday 9

Looks like Galveston and Clear Lake were both hit really hard by the hurricane. I've been up since 5:30 watching the local Houston coverage. Reminds me of Alicia in '83!

Saturday 9: Whistle While You Work

We are talking about jobs today. Pick any job of your career.

1. Tell us which job your are telling us about, and when you had it.
I was a data analyst in the pharmaceutical research industry. I started right out of grad school in 1990. Within a couple of years, I was a manager, overseeing analysts and projects and revamping data management operating procedures.

2. Where do/did you work?
A local CRO

3. Tell us about that boss.
Karen was from Baltimore. She had the best accent ever. I remember the conversation we had when I told her I had decided I would leave my career to stay home with my baby. She was so positive and wonderful, while sharing that if she had stayed home with her toddler, they would have driven each other crazy. Aww... lol.

4. Do/Did you find your work creative? If yes how?
I wouldn't say it was creative. Database administration is quite formulaic work.

5. Tell us about your favorite co-worker.
I had a lot of favorites! Everyone was great. Ina was my closest friend at the time. She had the creative job, designing case report forms and doing other graphic design projects. She is a funny, happy person. We were pregnant at the same time, too.

6. Tell us about the biggest jerk in that job.
I honestly can't think of any jerks. :)

7. Where do/did you see yourself with this job in five years?
Before I had Lauren, I saw myself continuing with the company, doing even more traveling, moving into upper management someday.

8. Tell us about your commute.
Just a 10-15 minute drive.

9. What hours of the day do/did you work?
8 to 5 most days. Flex time is not much of an option in that particular job. We had to be available to clients during normal office hours.

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"Burn After Reading" Day!

It's George Clooney Burn After Reading daaaaaay!!!!!! See you folks at the theater.

We've been playing Speedminton outside in the evenings. (Funnest game ever.) Last night while Lauren and I were playing, a woman walking her dog stopped to chat for a minute. At one point she asked, "Are you college students?"

You know that made both our days.

On a more serious note, I did finally hear that officials asked most Houston residents to "hunker down" for Ike. So, okay, I guess you're all not so crazy for staying there. ;) I'm thinking about you guys! Stay safe.

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Sept. 11

One of our pics from Ground Zero, when we visited this summer...



Finally rebuilding.

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Political Epiphany

Third post in one day? You'd think I had nothing to do. I'm actually bangin' out an event program this afternoon! I am a Multi-Tasker Supreme.

I have come to a pretty definite decision about one thing in this race for Prez:

I cannot vote to put Whats-Her-Name Palin in a position to become President of the US. Although I appreciate her going after her own corrupt Party yahoos in Alaska, and I have respect for her as a woman and mother who has become the governor of a state, I just disagree with her views on pretty much everything. As VP, who cares (other than the fact that McCain picked her... which is a bit of an issue for me as well.) But if she were President, WOW. What a joke this country would be. I just can't fathom it.

I have huge issues with Michelle Obama saying "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country." That one statement speaks volumes to me about her attitudes towards people. And there's the whole master's thesis thing, too. Still, she would be the First Lady, not someone in line to be President. And who really cares much about that. I am not a fan of hers. Of course, I'm not a Cindy McCain girl, either.

I wish I had the excitement over Obama that a couple of my friends have. I really do! I've always liked him, but he's sunk into the typical political rhetoric that I thought he never would. My biggest "policy" concern is that I see him as a tax-and-spend guy. We are all cutting back in our own households. The government should do the same during these economic times. (At the local level as well! Hello, Austin!) Now that he seems to be in the mud with all the other politicians, I just hope he can do what he started out to do, and steer this country away from Democrat/Republican agendas, and use his own brain to make decisions rather than kowtowing to the Party line.

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Ten on Tuesday... on Wednesday

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Favorite Movie Songs

1. Come What May- Moulin Rouge
2. Somewhere- West Side Story
3. Man Of Constant Sorrow- O Brother, Where Art Thou?
4. Kyle's Mom's a B**ch- South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
5. Let's Go Crazy- Purple Rain
6. Part of Your World- Little Mermaid
7. Summer Nights- Grease
8. I Could Have Danced All Night - My Fair Lady
9. The Time Of My Life- Dirty Dancing
10. Footloose- Footloose

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Transatlantic Cruise DEAL

Holy baJEEbus. If only I had time for this cruise--- Royal Caribbean has a 12-Night Spanish TransAtlantic Cruise from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale on Nov 10 that is specially priced from $399 per person.

$399.

Balcony rooms are only $849 per person. Navigator of the Seas. It's a nice ship!

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Debates Ahoy

Especially for those who are undecided like me, here are the dates of the upcoming debates:
Sept 26
Oct 2 (VP)
Oct 7
Oct 15

I'll watch the VP debate for fun. Biden rocks out loud compared to Palin for me, so... eh. Could be interesting to see though.

I'm already sick to death of the accusations and retorts between candidates. Stop criticizing the other guy and just tell us what you are going to (try to) do if you're elected. And every news story is either skewed Democrat or Republican. Where are the plain facts without the snarky commentary?

On a happy note, whatever happens, January 20 is only 4 months away! Woohoo!

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Hyatt Fajitas and Galveston Trip

OMG. Jeff and I had dinner at the Hyatt Saturday. They've remodeled, you know, but I didn't realize they have taken their world-famous fajitas off the dinner menu. Luckily we asked about it, and they have them on the lunch menu, so they made them for us. However, the seasoning wasn't quite the same as it was, and they are serving it with run-of-the-mill pico de gallo instead of the fire-roasted picante. Oy. I believe the good old days of Hyatt fajitas are over. 'Tis a crying shame.

Yesterday, CJ and I made huge plans for my visit to see her in Galveston next weekend. We were both so excited about it!! This morning I watched the storm track for Ike on GMA. Yeah. That trip ain't happenin'. Ike's headed straight into Galveston next Saturday morning. Wah.

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Laura and My Uncle from Chicago

Don't remember if I ever wrote this story down, but it continues to be one of the funniest stories ever, from a dismally sad time:

When my mom died, my uncle Rob from Chicago was staying with me. Jeff and Lauren were on vacation with the in-laws and I had stayed home since mom was in the hospital, so I had been alone that week. We had to go to the nursing home and pick up all Mom's things the next day. Laura came with us to help pack.

It was just before Christmas, and one of the things someone had given my mother was a Christmas mouse on a plastic handle that played a very annoying, high-pitched Christmas-y song when you pushed a button. There was no way to stop it, and it ran for like 3 minutes at a time. It kept going off if someone bumped it. Everyone was laughing at how irritating it was. I tried to give it away to anyone on the staff, but no one would take it, of course. I threw it in a box to give to someone later.

On the way home from Wimberley, the thing starts playing from deep in the box in the back of my minivan. "Neeee-neeeee-neee-nee-eeeeeeeeeeee!..." It stopped. Then it started again. "Neeeee-neee-neeeeeeee!..." With all the stress of the past several days, it was irritating the ever-loving snot out of me. I had been feeling so numb for days, and this was the first time I had really just gotten ticked. I pulled over in a gas station parking lot and flew out of the car to throw the toy in the big trash can there.

Laura asked Robert how he came to be in Chicago after growing up mainly in Texas. Robert is soft-spoken anyway, and all Laura could hear while he was talking was "Neeeeee-nee-neeeeee-neee!......" Meanwhile I was angrily tossing Christmas decorations everywhere in the back, digging for this stupid toy. "Neeeeee-nee-nee!..."

Finally I found the thing and slammed the hatchback closed.

"...And that's how I got to Chicago," said my uncle.

When she told me about it later, I could not stop laughing. We just talked about it again last night! Too funny.

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Saturday 9

Laura came up with a great name for our mostly weekly girls' night out at Kathy's place. Liquor Club. Chic, eh? The first rule of Liquor Club is, you do not talk about Liquor Club. So I'll move on... ;)

Saturday 9: Out to Lunch (or Dinner)
1. When you go to a restaurant, do you usually order the same thing?
Unfortunately yes.

2. What is your favorite fish dish?
Anything involving salmon and capers.

3. What is your favorite meat dish?
Ribeye, medium-rare. At Austin Land and Cattle if at all possible.

4. What is your favorite vegetable?
Broccoli.

5. How often do you eat out?
Lunch 2-3 times a week. Dinner 1-2 times a week.

6. Do you usually order dessert? If yes, what?
No.

7. Do you like a particular after-dinner drink?
I don't typically do after-dinner drinks.

8. How far would you drive to go to a favorite restaurant?
45 minutes.

9. Do you like to dine with just one person or a group?
Depends on what kind of night it is. Usually I prefer to go out as a group though.

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Friday Five: Orange

Friday Five

1. What’s your favorite orange-colored food?
Cantaloupe.

2. What’s the best way to drink orange juice?
Ice-cold from a glass. No vodka. Everyone I know seems to have had that one "screwdriver party" that ruined it for the rest of our lives.

3. Which candy’s orange-colored pieces taste best?
M&Ms.

4. What are your feelings about orange soda?
It's good. Too bad it has that pesky benzene in it.

5. When did you last wear an orange item of clothing?
A couple of days ago I wore my only orange item of clothing- a shirt.

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High School Back-to-School Night

There was a big meeting last night in the gym before we parents headed out to a full-blown class schedule, complete with bells, to meet all our kids' teachers. 7-minute passing, 5 minutes per class. The Principal warned us as we left the meeting, "If you skip any classes, your child will be notified immediately via telephone." Haha.

Between the talk in the halls and the behavior in the classrooms, you could tell everyone was reliving their old high school days. Very amusing.

Before 1st period, we saw Jim and Janeen in the hall, and I realized I had forgotten to bring a pen. Jim proudly showed me he was prepared with a pencil. Lawyers. He probably always had a pencil for debate class, too. :p

First period Geometry, Jeff and I got there just before the bell and whined about having to sit up front with the nerds. lol.

2nd period World Geography is one of those awesome classes taught by a football coach. Love it.

Third period English, someone was tardy and had to stand in the back of the room.

Fourth period Business Computer Science, four people were in the wrong class and we made fun of them as they left.

Once we looked lost in the hall and upperclassmen parents offered to help us. OR were they going to send us to a fake building across campus? HMMM...

Sixth period Spanish II was my favorite teacher, although when he greeted us with something way more complicated than "Bienvenidos," I went blank. That's okay because I'm pretty sure the guy who came in after us responded, "Aloha."

Seventh period Biology a guy's phone rang and the teacher said she was going to take it up and he could have it back in two days.

We skipped 8th period Band to miss the horrendous traffic. No calls from the principal... yet.

Ooh. We should have tested the "No PDA" rule!

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The Abilene Paradox

I learned something new yesterday!

Where Cindy and Kathy work, when everyone is pursuing a bad idea that is really leading nowhere, someone eventually says "We're just driving to Abilene." I had never heard that saying. They described it as meaning you've followed this course and now you have found yourself in a place no one wanted to be, and additionally haven't solved the issue at hand.

Turns out, this is a reference to something called the Abilene Paradox, described by management expert Jerry B. Harvey in an article he wrote in the 70's. He basically said that people are often reluctant to act contrary to the trend of the group. The anecdote he offers in the article to describe the phenomenon involves a bored Texas family who, after a discussion, decides to drive to Abilene. The trip and the visit are terrible, and only afterwards do they figure out that no one really wanted to go there anyway. Each just thought the others wanted to.

Poor Abilene! lol. Laura thinks it should refer to Lubbock instead.

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Ten on Tuesday, and stuff

So I see Palin is trying to appeal to Democrats with her whole "pregnant teen daughter" thing. *wink to my Dem friends* I just have to shake my head at the whole McCain-Palin campaign at this point. As long as Obama keeps his nose clean, he should have this thing wrapped up.

Just getting back into the swing of normal weekdays today! Hope everyone is having a lovely day.

And now, Ten on Tuesday:

10 People You’d Love to Meet

1. George Clooney :D !!
2. Barack Obama
3. John McCain
4. Anderson Cooper
5. Diane Sawyer
6. David Letterman
7. Steven Spielberg
8. Michael Jordan
9. Steve Jobs
10. Tom Brokaw

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Home Again

Well, we're all back home. Jeff has been at the Tripoli Rocketry Association national launch in Kansas since last week. Lauren and I went to Dallas this weekend for the Lee family reunion. (That's my mom's side of the family.) Now we're all tired and ready for a holiday!

My aunt and uncle on the Alabama coast, and my cousins in Jasper and Houston couldn't make it to the reunion because of hurricane preparations. Everyone else was there. We looked at the old family slides on Saturday, which I haven't done in years.

Saturday night we had quite the dinner discussion about the healthcare mess in the US. My extended family members have political views ranging from my Socialist uncle, to middle-of-the-road me, to my ultra-conservative Republican grandparents. We also have a lot of folks in the healthcare biz, including my aunt who works for Cigna, and another aunt who is a pediatrician. Yeah, it was interesting. Good thing we had a private room in the restaurant. ;)

We all hung out at the grandparents' on Sunday. Solved more of the world's problems. Ate Christine's famous flavored nuts- lemon pistachios were good. I showed everyone my cousin Diane's MySpace pics of her new boyfriend. (Sorry Di!! They reeeeally wanted to see! lol)

Lauren and I stopped by Jeff's parents' for a while Sunday night. It was really nice to see them as well!

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