The scariest day of the year is upon us... are you ready for Election Day??
KIDDING!!
It's Halloween, of course!! I know this will be a crazy weekend for some with Halloween being on a Friday. I know there's lots of parties going on tomorrow that I'll be (trying to) make all the rounds to. Maybe I'll post pictures later... I don't want to spoil the surprise of my costume yet, though. :)
But for now, I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween and BE SAFE!! With Halloween comes all the crazy people who actually blend in for the day. ;) I hope you get more treats than you do tricks! :)
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
I'm Not Ready for the Cold!
The past few days have been brutal for me... I am SO not ready for the cold weather to come.
I know these past few days have been atypical for this time of year - we should be in the 60's for highs, not the 40's!! But what it's done is made me realize I'm not ready for winter! I definitely need to have a good, long fall this year, one where I have time to adapt to the cold since I won't be traveling the way I was last winter. The past few mornings, when I woke up to temperatures below the freezing mark, I just wanted to stay in bed where it was warm and toasty. Having to get up and leave my house was hard!
It's only October!! If this is any indication of how our winter is going to be this year, I might have to beg and plead for my company to send me to Abu Dhabi for a couple of months to warm up!! My hands are already frozen from just typing this blog. :( I hope I adjust soon!
I know these past few days have been atypical for this time of year - we should be in the 60's for highs, not the 40's!! But what it's done is made me realize I'm not ready for winter! I definitely need to have a good, long fall this year, one where I have time to adapt to the cold since I won't be traveling the way I was last winter. The past few mornings, when I woke up to temperatures below the freezing mark, I just wanted to stay in bed where it was warm and toasty. Having to get up and leave my house was hard!
It's only October!! If this is any indication of how our winter is going to be this year, I might have to beg and plead for my company to send me to Abu Dhabi for a couple of months to warm up!! My hands are already frozen from just typing this blog. :( I hope I adjust soon!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Brown County
I finally made it to Brown County. I've lived in Indiana for over seven years and have never made it down there... until this weekend. Finally!
Eric and I took the trip down SR 135 Saturday morning after breakfast. We didn't do Nashville, however - it was too busy since it's about peak leaf season in the area. And it was busy when we drove through it. People were everywhere! But like I said, we just drove through it on our way to Story, Indiana. Story is a small town turned inn that is 'stuck' in the early 1900's... basically, the depression drove everyone away and no one came back to revive or modernize it. Then a guy bought all the pieces up and converted the buildings into suites/rooms and the whole town is now an inn. It's pretty cool. If you've never been, it's worth the trip. The restaurant has pretty good food, too.
After Story, we did a short hike in part of the Hoosier national Forest before we went into Brown County State Park to do some hiking there. The colors were pretty close to peak... with the storms that are supposed to be coming through this week, this may have been the best weekend - the leaves may all get blown down!! I about busted my a$$ on the first hike in the State Park... the wooden stairs were wet and I slipped on the first one. Oops!! But that's why hand rails are there... and they saved me, too! But anyway, that's besides the point. It was a great day for hiking.
I took pictures, of course, and you can check them out if you want. Enjoy!
Eric and I took the trip down SR 135 Saturday morning after breakfast. We didn't do Nashville, however - it was too busy since it's about peak leaf season in the area. And it was busy when we drove through it. People were everywhere! But like I said, we just drove through it on our way to Story, Indiana. Story is a small town turned inn that is 'stuck' in the early 1900's... basically, the depression drove everyone away and no one came back to revive or modernize it. Then a guy bought all the pieces up and converted the buildings into suites/rooms and the whole town is now an inn. It's pretty cool. If you've never been, it's worth the trip. The restaurant has pretty good food, too.
After Story, we did a short hike in part of the Hoosier national Forest before we went into Brown County State Park to do some hiking there. The colors were pretty close to peak... with the storms that are supposed to be coming through this week, this may have been the best weekend - the leaves may all get blown down!! I about busted my a$$ on the first hike in the State Park... the wooden stairs were wet and I slipped on the first one. Oops!! But that's why hand rails are there... and they saved me, too! But anyway, that's besides the point. It was a great day for hiking.I took pictures, of course, and you can check them out if you want. Enjoy!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Democracy...
Do you think this is how our forefathers intended for the government to work? Is democracy still acting as it was meant to be?
I often think not. And as we get closer to the election, it got me thinking about all the issues there have been in election in the past decade. Then I remember an 'essay' I wrote, voluntarily, just to let off some steam (writing things down can be the best therapy when you're frustrated - try it sometime if you don't already). I wrote this sometime around the turn of the century - I didn't date it so I don't remember exactly when. But I thought I'd share it with you. I know there's flaws in the logic, but then there's flaws in the way politics work this day and age, anyway. Especially with mud slinging that gets worse as you get closer to an election. Well, you can read it for yourself. Remember, this was me venting when I was probably just out of college...
Politics. They've taken on a new form in this day and age. The traditional party lines are no longer as definitive as they once were. You have Republicans crossing over into Democratic beliefs and vice versa, and you have numerous `third parties' trying to make a name for themselves. The traditional `Conservative Republican' and `Liberal Democrat' are phrases for the politics of 50 or more years ago. So does the well known democratic process really still work? Can you really say you support a particular candidate because of their party affiliation? You have more `party supporters' than you do `candidate supporters' going out to vote. If you ask a person on the street if they knew some of the less broadcasted issues, they wouldn't be able to even tell you all of the correct views of candidates on the bigger issues. These are the party supporters who go into the booth and vote straight party line, and that may not even be their beliefs through and through with the blurred lines of today. They don't know the issues, but they go with their registered parties. How often has this placed someone in office that really shouldn't be there, especially at the local government level? Numerous candidates during the most recent local election throwing their name in just so `the people have someone else to vote for' and when you read about their stand on the issues, it's obvious they don't even know what the office entails. But then, anyone who votes straight party wouldn't know this. This is a problem. This is why government has so many problems. Local level have many who aren't even aware of the responsibility of the position they hold and they don't even mesh with all of their own party. But this can be fixed.
It's really a simple logic. Do away with all political parties. And yes, it would still allow the democratic process to work. In fact, it would work better. But by doing away with the political parties, you force every American to look at the issues before going to the polls. There's no pushing just one button to cast your vote. Some out there may already look at all issues, but a majority of people don't. If they did, it's not nearly as likely that they'd have a straight party vote. But you'd then get a candidate in office that the majority truly wants in office, at ALL levels of government. Someone who knows what they're doing and was voted in because of their views on issues, NOT because of their party affiliation. That's quite a concept.
So how would this work? How would we get to the final election if we don't have primaries for the `parties' to pick their one candidate? Again, simple solutions. There would still be primaries. They'd just be a larger ordeal and more important than they are today. Anyone who can fund a campaign can put their name on a ballot. And for higher offices, you'd have to have a petition with X-number of signatures supporting you to go along with that funding. During the primaries, everyone votes for ALL candidates, based on their stand on issues and the political promises they make. The primaries would produce a ranking of candidates, where you'd take the top two candidates for local government, and top three of four at higher levels. These would then be the names placed on the final ballot in November.
Just imagine. You'd have your local city government reflecting the majority of the city's population. At state level, you'd have the majority of the state's population beliefs upheld by the higher offices. And in the state houses and senates, if certain areas are more liberal or conservative than another area across the state, they'd both be represented accordingly. Then of course at the national level, the president would be voted in by the majority of the nation who concur with his beliefs, not his party affiliation. The house and senate would have state representation according the how the population of their state look at the issues. You'd actually have representation of the majority at each respective level. All because you forced people to look at the issues and how each candidate stood on the issues.
Politics would still have their problems. There'd still be `dirty politicians' and as long as human kind has greed, you'll always have some bad apples as such. But you'd no longer have politicians taking sides based solely on political affiliation. Party bashing would be a thing of the past. You'd actually have `individuals' representing you.
I often think not. And as we get closer to the election, it got me thinking about all the issues there have been in election in the past decade. Then I remember an 'essay' I wrote, voluntarily, just to let off some steam (writing things down can be the best therapy when you're frustrated - try it sometime if you don't already). I wrote this sometime around the turn of the century - I didn't date it so I don't remember exactly when. But I thought I'd share it with you. I know there's flaws in the logic, but then there's flaws in the way politics work this day and age, anyway. Especially with mud slinging that gets worse as you get closer to an election. Well, you can read it for yourself. Remember, this was me venting when I was probably just out of college...
Politics. They've taken on a new form in this day and age. The traditional party lines are no longer as definitive as they once were. You have Republicans crossing over into Democratic beliefs and vice versa, and you have numerous `third parties' trying to make a name for themselves. The traditional `Conservative Republican' and `Liberal Democrat' are phrases for the politics of 50 or more years ago. So does the well known democratic process really still work? Can you really say you support a particular candidate because of their party affiliation? You have more `party supporters' than you do `candidate supporters' going out to vote. If you ask a person on the street if they knew some of the less broadcasted issues, they wouldn't be able to even tell you all of the correct views of candidates on the bigger issues. These are the party supporters who go into the booth and vote straight party line, and that may not even be their beliefs through and through with the blurred lines of today. They don't know the issues, but they go with their registered parties. How often has this placed someone in office that really shouldn't be there, especially at the local government level? Numerous candidates during the most recent local election throwing their name in just so `the people have someone else to vote for' and when you read about their stand on the issues, it's obvious they don't even know what the office entails. But then, anyone who votes straight party wouldn't know this. This is a problem. This is why government has so many problems. Local level have many who aren't even aware of the responsibility of the position they hold and they don't even mesh with all of their own party. But this can be fixed.
It's really a simple logic. Do away with all political parties. And yes, it would still allow the democratic process to work. In fact, it would work better. But by doing away with the political parties, you force every American to look at the issues before going to the polls. There's no pushing just one button to cast your vote. Some out there may already look at all issues, but a majority of people don't. If they did, it's not nearly as likely that they'd have a straight party vote. But you'd then get a candidate in office that the majority truly wants in office, at ALL levels of government. Someone who knows what they're doing and was voted in because of their views on issues, NOT because of their party affiliation. That's quite a concept.
So how would this work? How would we get to the final election if we don't have primaries for the `parties' to pick their one candidate? Again, simple solutions. There would still be primaries. They'd just be a larger ordeal and more important than they are today. Anyone who can fund a campaign can put their name on a ballot. And for higher offices, you'd have to have a petition with X-number of signatures supporting you to go along with that funding. During the primaries, everyone votes for ALL candidates, based on their stand on issues and the political promises they make. The primaries would produce a ranking of candidates, where you'd take the top two candidates for local government, and top three of four at higher levels. These would then be the names placed on the final ballot in November.
Just imagine. You'd have your local city government reflecting the majority of the city's population. At state level, you'd have the majority of the state's population beliefs upheld by the higher offices. And in the state houses and senates, if certain areas are more liberal or conservative than another area across the state, they'd both be represented accordingly. Then of course at the national level, the president would be voted in by the majority of the nation who concur with his beliefs, not his party affiliation. The house and senate would have state representation according the how the population of their state look at the issues. You'd actually have representation of the majority at each respective level. All because you forced people to look at the issues and how each candidate stood on the issues.
Politics would still have their problems. There'd still be `dirty politicians' and as long as human kind has greed, you'll always have some bad apples as such. But you'd no longer have politicians taking sides based solely on political affiliation. Party bashing would be a thing of the past. You'd actually have `individuals' representing you.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Pumpkin Carving
It's that time of year... time to gather 'round with all your friends and carve pumpkins while sipping on mulled wine. Good times...
I was just happy to be able to make it this year!! Last year I was (you guessed it) traveling. So I missed the gathering and carving with the Talbott Street Gang. So I was pretty excited. Plus, I got to bring my own pumpkin that I grew... by accident (Long story short, I threw some seeds that were sitting on my windowsill for TOO long nonchalantly into my untended garden, and they sprouted. Within weeks, I had a 20'+ vine with lots of flowers and a pumpkin growing all by itself). It was a healthy pumpkin, too... really thick insides (great for baking) and tons of seeds (to accidentally grow again)! 
So anyway...I pre-gutted mine so I could get the insides for baking, so I was able to start carving right away. But I wasn't the first done... Matt finished WAY before anyone... he claims it's because he's done so much woodworking. But I don't know... I think he was just more into it. Or he just did an easier pattern. He did do a cool werewolf, though... so it couldn't have been that easy. Steve was the last one done... he was just trying to get it all just right, though.
Ultimately, though, we all finished up and had six good looking pumpkins. I was really excited about how mine turned out - once lit. When it wasn't lit, I wasn't too sure... but it's looks really cool lit. What do you think?
I was just happy to be able to make it this year!! Last year I was (you guessed it) traveling. So I missed the gathering and carving with the Talbott Street Gang. So I was pretty excited. Plus, I got to bring my own pumpkin that I grew... by accident (Long story short, I threw some seeds that were sitting on my windowsill for TOO long nonchalantly into my untended garden, and they sprouted. Within weeks, I had a 20'+ vine with lots of flowers and a pumpkin growing all by itself). It was a healthy pumpkin, too... really thick insides (great for baking) and tons of seeds (to accidentally grow again)! 
So anyway...I pre-gutted mine so I could get the insides for baking, so I was able to start carving right away. But I wasn't the first done... Matt finished WAY before anyone... he claims it's because he's done so much woodworking. But I don't know... I think he was just more into it. Or he just did an easier pattern. He did do a cool werewolf, though... so it couldn't have been that easy. Steve was the last one done... he was just trying to get it all just right, though.Ultimately, though, we all finished up and had six good looking pumpkins. I was really excited about how mine turned out - once lit. When it wasn't lit, I wasn't too sure... but it's looks really cool lit. What do you think?
Friday, October 17, 2008
A Conference in the Woods
I know it sounds weird, but apparently that what the Aviation Association of Indiana likes to do... meet in the woods for their annual conference. Not just a random wooded area, but a State Park, so it's actually pretty cool. Just not something you'd expect from people who like to fly around most of the time. :)
So this year, the AAI conference was held at the Potawatomi Inn in the Pokagon State Park up in Angola, IN. And this is a GREAT time of year for a conference in the woods... LOTS of fall colors. We actually started on a golf course just down the road, where we saw a bunch of wild turkeys and deer just enjoying the course. The hitting of the ball (which sometimes sounded like a gunshot) didn't even phase them!! When we finally got to the park, I was totally enjoying my surroundings and even managed to go on a hike to enjoy them a little more in depth. I hiked up to Hell's Point, which is the highest point in the park. I was hoping you could see Lake James from there, but it was just a little too far and the trees were a little too dense. Not a bad thing, just a different view.
I was especially excited when on the morning of my departure, the lake was like glass and I was able to get some amazing 'reflection shots' as the sun was coming up. You can check them and my other pictures out on my Fotki page.
All in all, it made for a very relaxing, enjoyable conference. Very nice indeed!
So this year, the AAI conference was held at the Potawatomi Inn in the Pokagon State Park up in Angola, IN. And this is a GREAT time of year for a conference in the woods... LOTS of fall colors. We actually started on a golf course just down the road, where we saw a bunch of wild turkeys and deer just enjoying the course. The hitting of the ball (which sometimes sounded like a gunshot) didn't even phase them!! When we finally got to the park, I was totally enjoying my surroundings and even managed to go on a hike to enjoy them a little more in depth. I hiked up to Hell's Point, which is the highest point in the park. I was hoping you could see Lake James from there, but it was just a little too far and the trees were a little too dense. Not a bad thing, just a different view.
I was especially excited when on the morning of my departure, the lake was like glass and I was able to get some amazing 'reflection shots' as the sun was coming up. You can check them and my other pictures out on my Fotki page.All in all, it made for a very relaxing, enjoyable conference. Very nice indeed!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Dreary Denver Days Don't Diminish Delight
Just because I have a job that doesn't make me travel weekly doesn't mean I stop traveling... I just don't go as much. :)
The trip had a bigger purpose this time... well, a bigger group, anyway. Great American Beer Fest. Ironically, I never actually made it to the Beer Fest, but I was going more for the other fun to be had! You know, warm sunshine on my face on a hike up a mountain to see a spectacular view... wait, no... we couldn't do that... because we didn't see the sun for three days and it was COLD! But honestly, that didn't keep us from have a great time and still doing those fun things. :)
We left Indy early on Friday morning and got to Denver an hour later... yes, that's with the time change. We were in Denver around 9am. After running around to get our bearings straight (finding good maps), we headed up to Boulder to meet a group of friends. We ate lunch and then decided to do a hike in that area, so we headed to Hall Ranch. It was the perfect hike for a group of us, especially with kids. So we hiked as far as the little ones could take and then headed back down. It was enough for all of us, I think.
After the hike, we split up and the kids went home while the rest of us make it to a few breweries in Boulder. Personally, I was surprised at some of the brews I enjoyed, especially considering I am not a beer drinker... at all!! So after all the beer and the very long day of hiking and traveling, we were beat. So off to bed we went.
The next morning we woke up kind of early to take the kids to the Denver Botanic Garden's annual Pumpkin Fest to pick pumpkins from their huge (and I mean HUGE) pumpkin patch!! Now, I have to admit... this was my first time to an actual pumpkin patch (that I remember). If there was a good one to go to for your first time, this was it! Despite the very dreary, cold weather (even more so than Friday - we actually got drizzled on), it was a good time. It wasn't anything that a big cup of hot chocolate couldn't fix. :)
Eric and I hung out with the kids that night while Katrina and Jason went to a wedding reception. And with their kids, this was easy. They have great kids and they are both so good. So Eric and I really enjoyed hanging out with them for the evening. Eric even baked cookies with them!
So Sunday rolls around, and still no sun. But this was to be a low key, indoor day, anyway, watching football and eating food with lots of friends. It was a good weekend to visit cause I got to watch my Jaguars beat the Broncos IN Denver. Too bad I couldn't go to the game... though I probably would've been miserable in the weather they had. But none the less, the Jags won! So it was a good end to a great weekend!!
Another great trip to Denver in the books. Hopefully there's more to come soon!! In the meantime, you can check out more pictures here. :)
The trip had a bigger purpose this time... well, a bigger group, anyway. Great American Beer Fest. Ironically, I never actually made it to the Beer Fest, but I was going more for the other fun to be had! You know, warm sunshine on my face on a hike up a mountain to see a spectacular view... wait, no... we couldn't do that... because we didn't see the sun for three days and it was COLD! But honestly, that didn't keep us from have a great time and still doing those fun things. :)
We left Indy early on Friday morning and got to Denver an hour later... yes, that's with the time change. We were in Denver around 9am. After running around to get our bearings straight (finding good maps), we headed up to Boulder to meet a group of friends. We ate lunch and then decided to do a hike in that area, so we headed to Hall Ranch. It was the perfect hike for a group of us, especially with kids. So we hiked as far as the little ones could take and then headed back down. It was enough for all of us, I think.After the hike, we split up and the kids went home while the rest of us make it to a few breweries in Boulder. Personally, I was surprised at some of the brews I enjoyed, especially considering I am not a beer drinker... at all!! So after all the beer and the very long day of hiking and traveling, we were beat. So off to bed we went.
The next morning we woke up kind of early to take the kids to the Denver Botanic Garden's annual Pumpkin Fest to pick pumpkins from their huge (and I mean HUGE) pumpkin patch!! Now, I have to admit... this was my first time to an actual pumpkin patch (that I remember). If there was a good one to go to for your first time, this was it! Despite the very dreary, cold weather (even more so than Friday - we actually got drizzled on), it was a good time. It wasn't anything that a big cup of hot chocolate couldn't fix. :)
Eric and I hung out with the kids that night while Katrina and Jason went to a wedding reception. And with their kids, this was easy. They have great kids and they are both so good. So Eric and I really enjoyed hanging out with them for the evening. Eric even baked cookies with them!So Sunday rolls around, and still no sun. But this was to be a low key, indoor day, anyway, watching football and eating food with lots of friends. It was a good weekend to visit cause I got to watch my Jaguars beat the Broncos IN Denver. Too bad I couldn't go to the game... though I probably would've been miserable in the weather they had. But none the less, the Jags won! So it was a good end to a great weekend!!
Another great trip to Denver in the books. Hopefully there's more to come soon!! In the meantime, you can check out more pictures here. :)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Just Not Sure?
So I was told about this website that ‘matches you’ with your Presidential candidate and decided to check it out. It’s actually pretty cool… it’s doesn't take very long to do, either, but it hits the topics that need to be hit. Basically, it has quotes from both Presidential candidates on issues, but it doesn’t tell you who said what. So you have to choose based on what you believe and what you feel is the direction to go on that topic.
I’ll admit, I landed right where I thought I would – there was only one question that I was surprised on. But I know the guy who told me about the website was actually surprised by his results – NOT who he thought he was going to vote for. So it makes you think a little, if nothing else. Nice way to be ‘influenced’ that doesn’t involve slandering ads.
I’ll admit, I landed right where I thought I would – there was only one question that I was surprised on. But I know the guy who told me about the website was actually surprised by his results – NOT who he thought he was going to vote for. So it makes you think a little, if nothing else. Nice way to be ‘influenced’ that doesn’t involve slandering ads.
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