Sep 25th 2008 05:00:29 pm

I have been closely following the presidential campaigns, politics, and general news over the past few months – as many have – and among my many concerns and questions, one small detail has been really bothering me. Basically, why is Barack Obama’s law education (at Harvard, none the less) and his experience with constitutional law (teaching it at the Univ. of Chicago) not counted more strongly toward his general readiness to be president? I watched this short video by Lawrence Lessig today about Governor Palin’s level of experience compared to previous US vice presidents. It may have some flaws, but it is interesting to watch and learn about past candidates. Of course, people commenting on the video try to argue that Palin is more experienced that Obama. Perhaps some believe that is a valid argument, but why doesn’t anyone ever counter with Obama’s education and law experience? Is being an educated lawyer really that much of a liability? Is being extremely experienced and knowledgeable on the US constitution and law not something that could help a president? I actually find myself being very personally offended that graduate-level education (and teaching at a college level) is not valued by the American public. Am I missing something?

6 Comments » Categories: School, Thinking, politics

Sep 24th 2008 10:03:12 pm

Quick announcement! I am going to be interviewed LIVE tomorrow for the TerriO Radio Show about Swap-bot. TeriO is the spokeswoman for the Craft & Hobby Association and she hosts an online radio show called “Empowering Creativity” on wsRadio.com. I am going to be on tomorrow’s show (Thursday, September 25th, 2008) which is broadcast live from 1-2 Pacific Coast Time (4-5 EST or 3-4 Central). If you are by the computer tomorrow afternoon, listen to the program here. I will be interviewed during the final segment (last 15 minutes) of the program. It should be fun! (The show is also archived as a podcast for a year, so I will post a link to that later.)

UPDATE: You can download the MP3 of my exciting interview here. Swap-bot was featured in the fourth segment and the interview is only 6 minutes long. Check it out!

9 Comments » Categories: Swap-bot

Sep 20th 2008 11:37:40 am

I tried really hard to stay open-minded and neutral as the presidential campaign started, but it has gotten near-impossible. I have become obsessed with following every headline and commentary. (This article describes my addiction perfectly: “We’re so addicted to the rush of this election, it probably won’t be long until we’re attempting to melt down Wolf Blitzer and shoot him into our veins.”) I listen to NPR all day at work and come home just to turn on CNN. I felt like if I stuck to those two news outlets I would receive a relatively unbiased view… but it has become too difficult to play fair. I am not strong enough to remain unbiased. I have succumb to the temptation of MSNBC and I check the Huffington Post multiple times per day. Travis and I have resorted to recording Olberman daily and we stay up late to be soothed by the brilliance of Jon Stewart. I am afraid my brain may explode before November 4th due to an overload of political commentary! How can I cure this addiction?

UPDATE: I forgot that I had wanted to post this cute political cartoon. I love Obama!

10 Comments » Categories: Television, politics

Sep 15th 2008 10:38:50 pm

We are half-way through the month and I don’t have much to show for it. Travis and I spent the past two weekends having fun with his parents who were in town to visit. We saw the local sites, hiked, ate, played dominoes, and had lots of fun with Crusher. I might get photos posted sometime soon…

While I was out working all week and having fun on the weekends, Swap-bot was heating up! We got some press coverage from the AP last week. You can read the article here on MSNBC. Exciting! I think we got a slight bump in traffic last week, but it is hard to tell because our traffic has been high all this month. There are 860 public swaps available right now. That is a record! On the 25th I will be interviewed on a live online craft radio program. I will give more details soon. Like usual, I am behind on answering Swap-bot emails and messages. Bad admin! However, I have some big/good news: Starting on October 6th, I will be devoting myself full-time to Swap-bot. It is time. The site deserves my full attention and work. That means that I am leaving my design job, which is a little scary considering how incredibly bad the economy is right now. There is simply a ton of work to do on Swap-bot and it has gotten to the “all or nothing” point. Working two jobs is just not feasible. Only time will tell if I made the right choice…

5 Comments » Categories: Crusher, Family, Swap-bot