I realize that Gore dug most of his own grave in 2000, but that's probably not how the press is going to paint it should we end up with PotUS McCain.

I always felt bad for Gore that he got tagged with the "I invented the Internet" thing when he never said it.

I always felt bad for Gore that he got tagged with the "I invented the Internet" thing when he never said it.

Well, that one I don't blame him for, but when I see him these days doing his green advocacy, I want to scream "Where were YOU in 2000!?!?!?"

My office is full of children today too.

Is this "between camp and boarding school the yuppie puppies come in to play"?

I'm sad that Obama being Christian makes me squirmy sometimes. Because I really believe that he's a Christian, not a theocrat, and yet, I hear "God," and I think "Oh, crap."

"Where were YOU in 2000!?!?!?"

Busy being really awkward in front of the camera as I recall. No, I agree with you, it was not a slick campaign. Neither was Kerry. I'm already having some concerns with Obama was well, I think he needs to be a little less thoughtful and do more hammering message. I'm hoping maybe the convention will kick that off. I'm not against thoughtful, but you need to get people excited.

"If they are under my desk, I will feel free TO KICK THEM"

I would! I think my minion is nicer than I.

"less thoughtful" - but we've had 8 full years of less thoughtful. I'm ready for "more thoughtful" . . . okay, pretty much anyone would be more thoughtful.

ION, Cockerpoo scares away bears.

Whee, we just had a tornado evacuation! Note that I work in one of the largest buildings on campus. Oh, the masses of humanity crowded into the windowless lowest level for half an hour.

I think the convention is really good so far. But I'm the base, I'm supposed to think that!

I wish I had seen some of the convention stuff last night, but it was worth missing it to see shrift!

With the various judging controversies at this Olympics, I was wondering last night about what the medal counts would be without these sports (I was also bored and waiting for dinner with Buffistas).

I eliminated sports that involve subjective judging (diving, equestrian dressage, gymnastics, synchronized swimming), or sports with more technical judging methods (boxing, taekwondo, wrestling) where judges have been called into question this Olympics.

I used the first 12 countries in both total medals and golds, giving a list of 13 countries. In total medals there was very little change in country standings; however there was a bit more shifting around if you only consider gold medals, with Russia losing the most standing.

Here are the results of my boredom:

Total Medals:
All Current Sports (Sports without Subjective Judging)

US, 110 (US, 93)
China, 100 (China, 61)
Russia, 72 (Russia, 47)
Great Britain, 47 (Australia, 44)
Australia, 46 (Great Britain, 42)
Germany, 41 (Germany, 33)
France, 40 (France, 32)
South Korea, 31 (South Korea, 24)
Italy, 28 (Italy, 23)
Ukraine, 27 (Ukraine, 17)
Japan, 25 (Japan, 16)
Cuba, 24 (Netherlands, 16)
Netherlands, 16 (Cuba, 14)

Gold Medals:
All Current Sports (Sports without Subjective Judging)

China, 51 (US, 33)
US, 36 (China, 29)
Russia, 23 (Great Britain, 18)
Great Britain, 19 (Germany, 15)
Germany, 16 (Australia, 13)
Australia, 14 (Russia, 12)
South Korea, 13 (South Korea, 9)
Japan, 9 (Japan, 7)
Italy, 8 (Netherlands, 7)
France, 7 (France, 6)
Netherlands, 7 (Italy, 6)
Ukraine, 7 (Ukraine, 6)
Cuba, 2 (Cuba, 1)

I also figured out medals for my ideal Olympics, which would have no baseball, badminton, basketball, beach volleyball, BMX, boxing, equestrian dressage (as a separate event), rhythmic gymnastics, soccer, softball, synchronized swimming, table tennis, tennis, trampoline, or water polo. This really didn't change the current standings all that much, mostly because these sports produce only one or two medal each.

Megan's Olympics, Total Medals:

US, 95
China, 72
Russia, 61
Great Britain, 44
Australia, 43
Germany, 36
France, 35
Italy, 25
South Korea, 24
Ukraine, 24
Japan, 23
Cuba, 15
Netherlands, 15

Megan's Olympics, Gold Medals

China, 40
US, 30
Great Britain, 18
Russia, 17
Germany, 15
Australia, 14
South Korea, 11
Japan, 8
Italy, 7
France, 6
Ukraine, 6
Netherlands, 6
Cuba, 2