Workday

Each of these videos represents a little something about a typical workday.

Trucks.

Cat.

Balloon.

Penguin.

It's ski season!

Lifts open at Alyeska tomorrow.

McGee of the Day

It's been a while since we've had this segment, but it's back:

Last night, Jon Stewart referred to Sarah Palin as "Snowmachine McGee."

Miscellany

Some odds and ends:

• I blog like a woman. (Thanks Jay)
• I also blog like a "Duty Fulfiller": "The responsible and hardworking type. They are especially attuned to the details of life and are careful about getting the facts right. Conservative by nature they are often reluctant to take any risks whatsoever. The Duty Fulfillers are happy to be let alone and to be able to work int heir own pace. They know what they have to do and how to do it." Really?
• Well let me get the details of this one right. Sarah Palin gives interview in front of turkey slaughter. Happy Thanksgiving!
• Speaking of being careful about getting the facts right, Bill O'Reilly's squad of "journalists" gets San Francisco just right. You really can't take a step in that city without a gay homeless stoner prostitute trying to stab you with a hypodermic needle.
• Princeton uses Prop 8 as a precedent.
• Another crazy animal video (from t-dawg).
• Ted Stevens says goodbye. Say what you want about him, but there is a reason why people in Alaska love him so.

Meanwhile, I'm getting mentally prepared for the biggest football day of the year. Michigan-Ohio State starts here at 8am tomorrow, followed by Cal-Stanford at 11:30.

Frosty

The best 20 minutes of your day

Might be spent right here.

Senator Begich

It's not official yet, but he's got it locked down. Congrats, Mark.

UPDATE: It's official now. There was a senator in my living room.

My new exercise regimen

I was in the throes of eating a full pound of pulled pork the other day when I realized I should be exercising more. It's the time of the year here when exercise is hard to come by for me -- it's too snowy/icy to run, but it's not snowy enough to ski. And I'm too cheap to join a gym.

So that leaves one thing: Dance Dance Revolution. My landlord/former roommate left behind an Xbox and DDR, and it's a legitimate workout. When I've practiced enough I'm going to head to the mall and take on the junior high school kids.

Believe

This Stanford-USC preview has me believing there's a chance at taking the Trojans for a second year in a row. At 5-5, Stanford is one win away from bowl eligibility with only USC and Cal left on the schedule. A win would be so sweet. But I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

A helpful reminder: you can't spell "SUCK" without USC.

Tightening

Latest numbers show Begich slicing 2,000 votes off Stevens's lead, and now trailing by less than 1,000. This batch represents half the votes to be counted today, so the totals will move again before the day is done.

UPDATE - 3:55 pm: Begich is now up by a grand total of three votes.

UPDATE - an email to me and two others: "Thank goodness the 4 of us voted."

UPDATE - 9:00 pm: Begich now up 814. More to come on Friday or early next week, from districts most believe to be friendly to Begich.

UPDATE - Friday, 4:00pm - Begich now up 1,061. And for those of you watching the State House District 7 (Fox, AK) race, Republican Mike Kelly now leads Democrat Karl Kassel by 1 vote, 5,000-4,999. No, not that Carl Kasell.

What Sarah P. and I have in common

We both ate moose chili last night. It's good.

At the link is yesterday's interview with local media. If you're like me, you might be ready for a break from hearing her speak; trying to figure out what she's saying is sometimes like playing a game of Sudoku -- you know all the individual words, but she leaves it up to you to put them in the right order.

Anyway, if you're brave enough to listen to one more interview, my favorite part is when she says the media should have simply consulted her medical records during that controversy about Trig. Yes, those very medical records that were never released, despite repeated requests from the media.

(You might be ready to forget about her for a few years, but some of us aren't so lucky. She's still my governor.)

And we're back to normal here in Alaska

Anchorage man catches African cat in dipnet.

Yup.

From artist Patrick Moberg.

Not stolen

Rumors are starting to stir that perhaps something fishy was going on up here during the election. But from what I've heard, the election was clean. As verified by poll watchers, turnout was simply down. Why it was down we still don't know. But as far as anyone can tell there was nothing dirty about it.

As an aside, crunching the numbers in the Begich race leads to a hopeful conclusion that Mark may squeak it out. But we'll have to wait to find out.

Figuring out Stevens-Begich

I spent today trying to understand the Stevens-Begich Senate race. The question on everyone's mind: how does a convicted felon win re-election?

First things first: it's not over yet. There are still 60,000 or so votes to be counted (early votes, absentee votes, and question votes), and Stevens is up about 3,500 right now. The Begich campaign indicates that there is reason to hope that things can still turn around. But why is this race even close? Two reasons.

First, Republicans came out and voted for Ted. I asked a coworker why they'd do that, Ted being a convicted felon and all. He gave three reasons: 1) they're Republicans, and they don't want to vote for a Democrat; 2) they don't care what people in the lower 48 think; and 3) they have a loyal 40-year relationship with the senator. There is a genuine emotional connection to him. Ted's strategy since the conviction was to tell voters that the trial was a sham, and that he did nothing wrong. His loyal supporters believed him.

Second, Democrats didn't vote. Relative to 2004 and previous years, turnout in Alaska was low. It's unfathomable that this could be so, with Sarah Palin on the national ticket, plus two competitive races for congress. But it's true. Turnout was low, and it appears that the side that stayed home was the Democrats. It's truly bizarre. I don't get it. Nobody does.

It's going to take 10-15 days before this race is decided. And if Ted comes out ahead, then it gets really fun. Will he be pardoned? Will the Senate expel him? If so, who runs for his seat? Maybe you've heard of our governor?

Autumn photos

A few weeks of photos are now up on Flickr. The set is an odd mix of weird Anchorage weather, scenes of an idyllic Chicago fall day, a scary-ass clown, and a trip to Talkeetna and Hatcher's Pass.



I can't apologize enough about the clown.

Happy and confused

That's how I feel as I head to bed tonight. I'm obviously thrilled that Barack Obama won the presidency -- the magnitude of this election has not sunk in yet, and may not for a while. I watched the returns in a bar in Anchorage, and people were very excited. No Palin fans there.

But the more I think I know about Alaska, the less I really do. It appears the people here are going to re-elect Ted Stevens and Don Young (although we probably won't know for sure about Stevens for a few days). This result defies explanation. I'm too tired right now to even begin trying to wrap my head around it. At the very least, this is embarrassing.

And then California's Prop 8. Although votes are still being counted, it appears that it will pass. Again, I'm too tired to begin trying to express my disappointment.

Confused, but happy still.

Happy Voting Day

This is always the day when I am most proud of my country -- the day we demonstrate the peaceful transition of power. Surely there are still problems with the logistics, what with the long lines and instances of voter fraud and voter suppression, but it's still a remarkable day. Enjoy casting your ballot today.

Here in Alaska it's probably the most exciting election the state has ever had. Our governor is on the national ballot, and our two long-serving congressmen are in very heated battles. A truly historic day. I saw dozens and dozens of people standing on snowy, frozen sidewalks this morning waving signs for their candidates.

I'll give credit to George W. Bush -- his miserable presidency has knocked the complacency right out of the electorate.

Some US Supreme Court action

The US Supreme Court just granted certiorari on a case our office is working on in conjunction with the Innocence Project. I did a small amount of work on the (unsuccessful) cert opposition.

Alaska is one of six states that doesn't have a law providing convicts with access to DNA testing that wasn't available at the time of conviction. The 9th Circuit said a convict has a right to access DNA testing, and now the Supreme Court will have a look.