Has billytea seen this?

Hee. I have! The little penguins at Cincinnati Zoo are quite awesome. 

I'm not single-issue, but as a broad category, I vote more on social issues than economic. I have strong opinions on economic issues, but they tend to fall between our two parties, and there's less disagreement between them anyway. In principle. I'm often happy to vote on competence here. But there is a significant difference between them on social issues, and I certainly won't be voting Liberal while that remains the case. 

I could vote Green, especially since with preferential voting, a third-party vote won't be wasted; and my social positions are closest to them. But economically we're quite far apart, and I don't have much reason as yet to trust their competence in government.

Sadly, right now that's true of both major parties too right now. I don't recall the last time Australia was as ill-served by its politicians. 

The testiness has started. But I am maintaining zen goddamnit, even of it means walks in the dark. The very dark.

Undara was magical. Lava tubes cool. Chillagoe now which is very pretty and I'm the middle of nowhere. Cockatoos everywhere. My dad and nephews are acting about the same age.

I'm gonna probably knock off a bottle of wine tonight and my nic ban went to hell. ZEN.

My conservative family members are alternating between posting "drug testing for welfare recipients!" and "Whoever's president, Jesus is King!" stuff on Facebook. Eh, they're not being overtly racist (although if you asked them to describe their mental image of a welfare recipient, I doubt that person would look like them) or calling for armed rebellion, so I'm gonna just scroll on by.

FUCKING OOOOMMMMM...

Let's see, I quelled an epic tantrum in a 5 year old and then refused to let a 71 year old act like the same, I didn't lose my temper, I did not raise my voice, and I was a sane, calm human being. Hell, I didn't get so much upset as annoyed and incredulous. And gobsmacked, even as I know better.

I may not say a single thing but cordial filler to my father for the next week but I am actually ok. It's all about perspective and I'm good. God I love family holidays.

I want a gold star goddamnit.

I think the anti-sex education thing is the one I scratch my head at most. Because clearly, if no one ever teaches kids about sex, they'll never be curious enough to experiment with it on their own, right?

Not if they were taught no sex before marriage in the church like they should have been. I mean, that is the answer I would expect these people I know to give.

GOLD STAR FOR SARA!

I'm informing my mother in the morning that she's funding my alcohol budget for the rest of the trip. BECAUSE I'M BEING THAT AWESOME .

Why, I haven't even gone to yell at my father who seems to be eating the way through all of our breakfast food for tomorrow. Because if the manlocust succeeds, why, there's a pub across the street that does breakfast and I'm gonna let that fall there.

Yes, I'm laughing at this point. What else is there? And why are you online so early

Why, I haven't even gone to yell at my father who seems to be eating the way through all of our breakfast food for tomorrow. Because if the manlocust succeeds, why, there's a pub across the street that does breakfast and I'm gonna let that fall there.

Check it out, your dad's kosher. (Half-kosher.)

I would blame it on Australia, but he's just like this.

Whining ( or stoic tongue holding IRL) aside, Queensland is lovely and SO whacko in terms of .... Fuck. That word that means the Eco zones. (Finishing the bottle) Mountains! Rainforest! Ohio! (Seriously) Savannah! In 30 minutes or less! Fruitbats squabbling and I might have to leave the door open to survive, hope the 'Roos don't come in. Or the road trains.

Guide is a lovely gent ( notlikethat) though the other group in parallel are Germans who live up largely to every stereotype I ever formed abroad. It'd be funnier if I didn't have to snatch a basket of chicken fingers from a grown man for a hungry kid. Ok, that WAS pretty funny. Especially since my German came back for that and shocked the fuck out of him. I can't even remember the phrase now, but it was Frau luchini's equivalent of 'have you no shame?' Apparently still current.

Ok, time to test the zen and inform the manlocust he is going the fuck to bed now since my room is the central room and he has his own with deck access, the fucker.

(I love my dad. But he's really being unlikeable to family right now. Some of it is old news, some are new things that worry me .)

An article on why Orca sucked so much. Campaign Sources: The Romney Campaign was a Consultant Con Job

Fascinating. The comments are interesting too.

They say that the truth is the consultants essentially used the Romney campaign as a money making scheme, forcing employees to spin false data as truth in order to paint a rosy picture of a successful campaign as a form of job security.

...

Sources also said that arrogance played a big role, saying that the Romney campaign was a hostile battlefield of egos in which these consultants viewed any opposition to their world view as coming from an enemy. This apparently led to the ORCA program “receiving no stress test, no usage during super saturdays and no ability to have a Plan B or C when everything hit the fan.”

“The brain trust of the Romney campaign was so arrogant that they refused to change strategy. It was clear in June were SOL,” said one email.