Goodbye Little Buddy

This is a pretty hard post to write. My little Miniature Schnauzer "Lady" lost her battle with diabetes on Wednesday October 8th. I know some people don't get sad about the loss of pets, but I tend to view them as little people who have their own distinct personalities. Lady has been my dog since I was in the 5th grade and I have always viewed her as a full member of the family.

Like I said before Lady had her own little personality and was quite the mischievous and fun-loving pooch. Her favorite things were to wrestle, bark a lot and make frequent attempts to invade the garbage can. It was very hard to be away from her when I know she has been sick for the past month. Due to my new job, I have not been living in my family home since July. My mother made the executive decision to put Lady to sleep after she took a very sharp turn for the worse that morning.

Lady had been diagnosed with diabetes in early September and as a result of treatment lost her eyesight and some of her hearing. She was having a lot of trouble adjusting to the new situation and was very sad after not being able to do her favorite things anymore. Hopefully she is in heaven now, chasing after various animals, barking to no end and having a grand old time.

Whats The Big Deal With Energy Drinks?

A co-worker of mine starts everyday with a "Red Bull" energy drink to get his day going. I asked him if he really thought it was giving him any more energy or got him in a better mood to deal with his work and after thinking about it he said "It doesn't give me any more energy but makes me think I am being proactive about getting things done".

A closer examination of the ingredients inside a Red Bull would stun even a casual observer. Red Bull has 80mg of caffeine in every can which is only slightly more than the average cup of coffee. So where is this supposed "energy" coming from? The can features a whopping 27 grams of sugar packed into only 250 ml in the form of sucrose and glucose. The tandem of those two are certain to leave you with a debilitating "crash", after they wear off.

Another eye-popping metric is the 250% of Vitamin B6 and 80% of Vitamin B12. High does of B6 have been linked to nerve damage and numbness in the hands and feet. Now that all those "benefits" have been debunked, what about Taurine? Taurine helps the body absorb fat soluble vitamins, regulate the heart beat and prevent brain-cell over activity. Huh, nothing about energy? Well it seems Red Bull is more of a "sexy" choice for providing energy than actually providing it in the first place.

Campbell Brown: I Love You

While much is made about good looks this electoral season (Sarah Palin) and lack thereof (Hillary Clinton), one woman has stood out in my mind as the perfect fusion between intelligence and stunning looks. Campbell Brown has made CNN not only my "go-to" spot for political commentary but also the place to go for an anchor who can steal my heart while massaging my brain cells.

I first met Campbell in early 2008 when she had just begun her career at CNN. She was an evening anchor and I was just someone who happened to be watching the TV. I knew love had instantly blossomed as I could tell that Campbell's trademark smirk and wry smile were being directed solely at me. The brunette vixen had ensnared me and certainly made my love of politics grow as I realized I could begin to enjoy the people that delivered the "news" to me.

Campbell is everything a journalist should be. She is intelligent, witty, sincere, modest, reserved and educated. While often soft spoken, she occasionally channels her inner "Tim Russert" when dealing with BS from the campaign trail. She has a fiery streak and is not afraid to show it.

David Gergen may have his so called "lovers" but I know in my heart that Campbell and I were meant to be together. So what will I do? The only thing I can do: tune into CNN for spot on political commentary, relevant interviews and an occasional smirk that I know will only be meant for me.

The Real World: Macy's

In case you haven't heard I work two jobs now, stepping into the realm of retail at Macy's. I've worked there long enough to make some generic, general observations about shoppers in general that seem to apply to department stores in general:

1. People bring in 10 coupons and expect each one to magically be accepted and have their item somehow just be reduced to nothing. Obviously this is not the case and as you explain this to people they act like this is a novel concept and must be limited to just your store.

2. The common thought is that people will try on everything and whatever I don't like I will just pile on the floor in the fitting room. I often have to conquer mounds of clothing when checking the fitting rooms because people are too lazy to bring their clothes back to where they found them. Women are more frequently guilty of this heinous offense, as they often bring quite an array of clothes into the fitting rooms with them.

3. Some people think they can get away with stealing. Let me set the record straight for you: You will never get away with stealing in a department store! I have seen the security room and they can zoom in on the face of your watch. If you are considering some type of operation to relieve a department store of its merchandise, you will most likely end up in handcuffs at the end of the it.

4. Unlike the urban legend, you actually need to have your receipt to return things. I know it sounds almost heinous to ask someone to provide a proof of purchase when returning something, but I will unfortunately have to enforce that policy. There are always several people who seem to think receipts are like pay phones and are just for "show" these days.

5. Unfortunately you do not get a "discount" if the merchandise is damaged. The process involves little to do with you and the garment going back into the supply room. I can't make special arrangements with you just because you think I should be giving you a "deal". If it's damaged, don't buy it!

You F-ed Up, No Problem!

The Wall St. bailout plan really sickens me. Let me run a little scenario by you. Lets say you take out a loan to start a new business and that business unfortunately goes in the tank. You knew the risks going into it, so the financial ruin that came with it shouldn't have been a surprise to you. Unless you are a big Wall St. firm, then it's OK! Apparently what is good for the goose isn't good for the gander.

A bailout plan proposed by the president would attempt to keep companies solvent, but take responsibility for their mistake and place it on the taxpayers. Adding to the dilemma is the plea from the administration and economic leaders that without this plan, the American economy is dead in the water. The absolute last thing I want is seeing my tax dollars and the tax dollars of my fellow citizens going to bailout somebody who made a dumb decision and then turn around and not make that person pay for it.

If I was in charge for a day (and a long day that would be), I would press criminal charges against the CEO's of all those major companies in exchange for "bailing out" their companies. In addition, the U.S. government should get stock in all of the companies being bailed out, they would have limited CEO compensation privileges and would be subject to frequent auditing.

The Media Mentality

In this past February, I attended a Barrack Obama rally in Wilmington, DE to check the guy out and to see what he was all about. That part went over well as I got a pretty good feel for him as a person and I stood only fifteen feet away from him. However there was something that did piss me off and that was the denial of my media pass!

For some reason, last night I had a dream that my pass was accepted and I had gotten full media rights for the rally. I have no idea why I dreamed this but thats what my dream was! When I applied for the pass as a blogger, I thought I'd have no trouble getting one, as I viewed myself as a respectable member of the media (although technically mainstream). I even thought to myself, man I am really a big honcho now, once I get this pass. Sadly that was not to be the case, they didn't think I was "real media"

I think it is bloggers who actually drive the spread of "real news" around this country. It was bloggers who outed the Dan Rather story about having evidence that Bush wasn't in the national guard. It was bloggers and average people who defeated the "inevitable candidate" in Hillary Clinton and instead chose Obama. It was also bloggers such as Matt Drudge, who brought down Bill Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. So with that said, can I officially be in the media now?

The Obama Train Slipping Off Of The Tracks

Obama's lead in the electoral college is starting to slip away before our eyes. The upper Midwest (states like MN, WI, MI) is starting to slip away and places where he was competitive before (MT, SD, NC) are starting to move more towards McCain. The strange part to me is that Obama has been under greater fire during previous spots in this election. I thought the Jeremiah Wright situation, "they cling to their guns" and the Hillary Clinton drama at the convention should have all been worse moments than right now.

However I am going to make a few bold predictions. I will say right now that Obama will win the election handily. By this I mean he will win more than 300 electoral votes. You are probably wondering how I came by this figure. First I look at the InTrade prediction market which I have a click able picture up above. Obama is currently around 51% to win election while McCain is at 49%. I figure the polls used to calculate this figure don't include young voters who primarily use cell phones and aren't included in land line polls like Gallup. These figures also don't include minority voters as these voters are much more unlikely to participate in the survey or have a land line phone. With this in mind I increase Obama's percentage in every state by 2-4%.

With that change we can immediately add Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, Virginia, Ohio and possibly Florida. This also means he holds onto all the previous Kerry states. This takes into account young voters and minorities actually showing up at the polls. I think there is still a high enthusiasm for him which will push him into victory. If he can survive the "lull" before the debates he should be set for victory.

EDIT (10/19/08):

Looks like I was right!