Post-Election Debriefing

I am always glad when the election season is finally over. The constant battle (in more ways than one) gets really old after a while (a few days), and it always seems that the last week of campaigning makes up for the remainder of the year in regards to the coverage and advertising.

Anyway, enough of that. I, of course, took my opportunity to be active in the process by voting. I don’t consider myself extremely well-versed in all the candidates’ positions or whatnot, but I’d have to believe that I know more about them than the ‘average joe’ — as in, when I do research I don’t solely rely on campaign materials. The worst part of it is really cutting through (or ignoring, rather) the crap and focusing on the actual issue(s) at hand.

I’m also not a big fan of selecting candidates based upon one or two ‘core value issues.’ Good examples that are typically used by people (at least lately) are abortion and stem cell research. While I won’t argue that these aren’t important issues, when it really comes down to it, they really have nothing to do with a candidate’s qualifications to take office or how a particular candidate will perform in office. I tend to select candidates based upon qualifications.

That said, overall this election season, I was pleased with the results (local, state, and federal). While there wasn’t any highly-contended local stuff (for me to vote on — I live in the wrong area of the county for that ), there were some important state offices to fill. I have to admit that I was a little bothered at first by the state results, but after stepping back and looking at the overall picture, I have a better feeling about it all. I was of the opinion (and still am) that most of those folks needed to be ousted. There were some I enjoyed seeing get the boot, but then there were also a few (one in particular) which I was quite disappointed didn’t get the boot. I have to admit, though, that the challenging candidate put up a much better effort overall (at least what I think) than those who have previously attempted.

So, we’ll see what happens now. I remain optimistic — at least for now.

Weekend Projects

Well, I’m not exactly sure what I’ll be able to accomplish this weekend, but I have some ideas for projects I’d like to at least begin to accomplish:

• Fix side garage door
• Insulate attic doors
• Terminate some coax for television feeds
• Clean up/Organize basement
• Install Structured Wiring Enclosure
• Install two low-voltage boxes in office
• Install permanent piece of sheetrock in office to replace temporary sheet which is covering up the old closet door hole.

It all depends upon my ambition — I intend to sleep some during the weekend as well.

Until next time…

This post was upgraded to the MZ Online Blog on 8/29/07