Well, here is the control panel! This part is beyond exciting. I’m quite surprised at how few problems we had. The art got stretched a little during printing, but it looks plenty good enough. I’ll take a picture tomorrow when we have some daylight. WOo hOo!
Here’s a taste of what we’re doing this weekend. Paul got the artwork all printed up, so we can start working on the control panel. Should be fun. 
Since every talk show host has been talking about “scare tactics” lately, I guess I’ll throw in my two cents.
The Kerry Campaign is doing something so transparently wrong: they are claiming positions for Bush that he is not taking! Here are some key examples that explain what I mean.
1) A Draft – They Kerry Campaign is “warning” that President Bush is going to reinstate the draft. The problem with this statement is that he’s NEVER said he will! He’s never even suggested such a thing. Troop levels in Iraq are sufficient, and with technology we can fight wars with less troops than we’ve ever needed. So why is the Kerry camp making this up? (hint hint, to scare you.)
2) Privatizing Social Security in January – Another “issue” Kerry is spouting is that Bush is going to privatize social security, probably around January. When Bush does this he tells all the senior citizens they’ll lose benefits. The problem with this? It’s completely made up! While Bush is for privatization of social security, claiming some made up change will occur in January is a bold faced lie. Simply not true.
3) Voter Supression – Back in 2000 there were many Democrats who felt cheated because their guy lost. There were reports of “widespread voter supression” and “disenfranchised voters” everywhere. Now some Democrats are using this as political fuel, claiming Bush is going to do the same thing. The problem with this? There was not ONE validated claim of voter supression last year. Not a SINGLE case brought before any court. No law suits were filed, and no people found guilty. NOTHING. So now the Democrats are trying to scare people with something that never even happened.
These are non-issues, because they are NOT TRUE. The problem however is that the media gives them equal time despite the ridiculous claims. Hopefully people are smart enough to find out both sides of these issues….err, I mean to figure out they aren’t issues in the first place.
Ever since High School I’ve had an affinity for the rain. It’s not the actual falling of water from the sky to the earth that I enjoy, but rather the effect it has on our daily routine: everything slows down. First we have to slow down for practical reasons. If we run too fast on a slippery surface, we fall and crack our head and die. If we drive too fast on a wet road, we crash into a mail box and crack our head and die. Water = Caution = Slow Down! So, now that we’ve been forced to move slower, everything else starts to follow suit. We eat slower, cuz heck, it’s all wet outside and you’d rather be inside and dry. All the teachers at school are less stressed out because they feel like their day already sucks, and there’s no way they’re wasting a precious ounce of energy to make you read chapter 5 about fungi. Since the roads are horrible we usually stay in, which causes us to do less, which in turn makes us less busy. Add all this up, and everyone just tends to mellow out more. I love it.
Mind you, extended periods of rain like they have in Seattle slow down life so much that you get depressed and want to kill yourself. So all things in moderation. 
Today is the last day to register to vote in California. If you or someone you know hasn’t registered yet, tell them to! They can register online also. Make your vote count.
My brother and I got a few good hours in on the arcade today. I was telling Andrew, it’s not exciting stuff, but very necessary. First we installed a 24" worklight in the top, then wired it to a replacement power cord. We put a bulb in and presto, it worked! This will light up the marquee when it’s all done. After that we worked on the real "cabinetry" of the whole process. We put in a pull down "face" that covers a slide out panel that will hold the mouse/keyboard/whatever. Underneath this we installed a door that swings open to reveal the area for the computer.
Nothing real exciting, but still an important part to the whole process. We hope to do a few things tomorrow also, so I’ll put up some new pictures then. Oh, and LUNAtang will be here too.
Update: We worked on some more stuff. Here’s a few pictures. New pictures in the gallery start here in the bottom row.
I hope you don’t mind, but I really need to let you know how hard my day has been.
Right now I’m substituting at Warren High School, and it’s really wearing me out. You see, I’m subbing for a computer/keyboarding class, so the kids all work on their computers all day. I have to sit here and play on the internet the whole time! It’s been really tough, but I’m doing alright. Kevin told me he bought a bowling ball, so I’ve been reading about them. I’ll have to go bowling with them some more, but it might be a good Christmas wish.
All the kids are working away and giving me no problems, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I just have to sit here and use the internet all day long and get paid for it. I’m sorry you have to read about it, but I just had to get it off my chest.
Tonight I went bowling with Kevin, Christie, Nick and Eric…and it was a lot of fun. First game I bowled like I usually do: just chuck the ball down the lane and hope. Second game I decided to try and learn how to bowl “correctly,” and start figuring out how to spin. With the help of Kevin I kinda started to get the hang of it. The second was pretty sad, but by the end of the third game I was getting it. I finished off the third game with a spare and a strike!
Now to go do some more push-ups.
