What a surprise!

Virginia election officials warn of phony calls about polling places

I Ain’t Gonna Work on Maggie’s Farm No More

From a guest blogger

I recently got an email from Cox cable telling me that they want me to upgrade my modem. I was good with that because it’s their network, and they know what works best - or at least they should. If they want to replace my original modem for free and it helps streamline their network, why should I complain?

I followed instructions to the letter but it didn’t work. I tried for an hour to make it happen, but because I wasn’t interested in spending another hour on the phone with one of their service people, I emailed them a note saying that if they want me to use the new modem, they will have to send a technician to my house.

I know a lot about computers and networking, but why should I spend my time doing their work?

This is a very common practice among technology companies. They expect users to do their fine tuning. They send a new product to market, software in particular, and wait for comments to come rolling in. They incorporate these fixes and send out patches and updates or even new software.

To thwart this, I always wait a few weeks to upgrade any software or suggested hardware because I know there will be patches or alterations coming along, the result of users bringing problems to the company's attention. I waited the usual several weeks after the modem arrived, didn’t get a follow-up email, and then installed it. My system isn’t fool proof.

From the company’s perspective, it’s free R&D. They get non-employees to do work without pay. I’m tired of this attitude. Get the product right and don’t expect me to troubleshoot it for you. We don’t tolerate this attitude in other consumer products, so why do we tolerate it for computers, software and internet-related services?

(Microsoft wonders why people aren’t flocking to Vista. This is why.)

If I hear from Cox cable, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, I put back my old modem and it works fine. It’s their loss, not mine.

A New Citizen Casts Her Vote

A friend of ours, originally from Scotland, who became a citizen last year, casting her first vote in a U.S. Presidential election in Bethesda, Maryland. Look at the happiness!!!!

First person report from swing state Virginia

From Politico

Susan Brophy, Democratic strategist:
I am doing Obama visibility with three friends and here's the report from the corner of George Mason Drive and Leesburg Pike in Arlington: about 35% of the people beeped in support of Obama, from all walks of life, although there seemed to be slighly more support going south; three people gave us the finger and three people gave us thumbs down; Obama seemed to have a lot of support from Fed Ex drivers and people who were driving and talking on their cellphones simultaneously; one Obama supporter threw Snickers at us, which at this time appear not to be tainted. We are changing locations because we have been promoted to door-knockers.

Down so low

It's one thing to hear about Bush's declining approval ratings, it's a whole other thing to see it in a graphic. Damn! That is one hell of a downward slide.

I picked this image up from Jezebel. It pretty much sums up how I have felt about this election from the beginning, and by the beginning, I mean 18 months ago. This is one of the rare instances in my life where I've felt absolutely sure about something without any doubts or anxieties or unsureness. I knew that Obama would beat Hillary Clinton, and then go on to trounce John McCain. It was one of those gut feelings that you can't ignore. I figured that once people got to know him, got to take his measure, they would think and feel exactly as I did, that here was someone who was so extraordinary, there was no other response except to say, "Yes." So, don't say anything to me about how you're worried, that you don't want to think that he can win because if he loses it will be too devastating. Just. Believe.

Just another reason

why I love Barack. The man has common sense. F' real!
From a recent MTV interview.

Sway: I know people have piercings, tattoos. Eric, in particular, is talking about a ban on sagging pants. Do feel like people should be penalized?

Obama: Here is my attitude: I think people passing a law against people wearing sagging pants is a waste of time. We should be focused on creating jobs, improving our schools, health care, dealing with the war in Iraq, and anybody, any public official, that is worrying about sagging pants probably needs to spend some time focusing on real problems out there. Having said that, brothers should pull up their pants. You are walking by your mother, your grandmother, your underwear is showing. What's wrong with that? Come on. There are some issues that we face, that you don't have to pass a law, but that doesn't mean folks can't have some sense and some respect for other people and, you know, some people might not want to see your underwear — I'm one of them.