Really? Are you kidding me?
Look... I'm not saying that I've even come close to making my mind up about November... which is good, given that the field isn't set yet... but I'm with Jon Stewart on this one: I want an elitist president.
Honestly, I think that the talking heads and the 24-hour news networks are so desperate for something, anything to keep this campaign going that they're really the ones attempting to turn this thing into an issue. And Hillary? Of COURSE she's playing this... this is her lifeline and even if it turns out to be an anaconda, it's better to try holding on to this than end up drowning without anything to hold her afloat.
As for McCain... well, I'll address his issues later, because as a life-long Republican, I'd like to address that at a good bit more length. But suffice it to say that I really think that everyone has something better to be paying attention to... like, I don't know, the real issues in play. If we're arguing over which candidate is the most elitist, I think we're missing something.
You would think that a Chinese Buffet staffed by those of obvious Chinese descent (who spoke something that I was pretty sure was some sort of Chinese) would represent a marked improvement over the sort in East Texas, located out in the middle of nowhere and staffed by individuals of a Hispanic descent. You would think that... but in this case, you'd be WRONG.
The Metro Buffet on Blairs Ferry Rd in Hiawatha (Cedar Rapids) has to be one of the worst buffets, if not the worst that I've ever been to. Some would criticize and say that my tastes are not acclimated to "authentic Chinese cuisine." And that might be true to a certain extent... but the staff of the Metro Buffet wouldn't know authentic Chinese if it lit the restaurant on fire on account of being far too busy yelling at each other in shrill voices across the restaurant.
In fact, let's take a minute to discuss the food. The crab rangoon was the worst I've ever had... it tasted strongly of salt and old fish and I could barely gag one down. The sesame chicken was actually "white sesame chicken" and it was basically fried chicken soaked in an orange sauce that tasted suspiciously like sweet and sour. The peppers in the pepper steak and the General Tsao's Chicken were wilted and off-color and the broccoli was brown... really, the only vegetable that wasn't screwed up was the onion, and that was nearly raw. All in all, the only thing that tasted like it was supposed to that I was willing to try was a chinese donut.
And for the pleasure of partaking of this exquisite fine dining experience as overseen by the paramount staff, I got to pay $12.50. Now, to be fair, there were options as far as sub-rate sushi and snow crab legs were concerned... but considering the quality of the other faire of which I HAD partaken, I wasn't about to risk my ass on food poisoning.
I've gotten a lot of questions about the new job, so let's see if I can sum it all up.
1) I'm doing something interesting... which is a nice change. I work in the Government Systems side of things at Rockwell Collins, testing the JTRS GMR.
2) I work in a cubicle, on a nice computer with a pair of 19" LCDs.
3) They have popcorn on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
4) I see Ardith once every couple of days. She is still short and antisocial.
Yeah... that's where I've been. Actually, I've been acclimating to my new job. And dealing with being a bachelor. And being lonely.
As many of you will recall, I don't do so well by myself. But not to fear, assuming Wheeler and Anna beat me enough, I've got stuff that needs posting. And with any hope, I'll get it posted... though I wouldn't go holding my breath if I were you.