Random thoughts

In lieu of posting something meaningful and worthwhile, here are random thoughts that have been bouncing around my head lately.

-- I’d rather not venture into politics, but I keep hearing about how great a speaker Barack Obama is and I just don’t see it. I didn’t think Bill Clinton was a good speaker either, though everyone said he was, but I think he (during his presidency and shortly thereafter) was better than Obama is. We know McCain isn’t a good speaker, and we know Biden rambles, so the only one who might be a good one is Palin (haven’t heard her speak yet) and I don’t have much hope of that being true.

When I say they aren’t good, I suppose I should clarify. McCain is terrible. He only sometimes gets a point across, and does it without meter, without passion. Obama and Clinton at least get across the point and sometimes hit a great line or speech. But neither is a Churchill, a Reagan, a JFK, or even an FDR. And yet, based on what people keep saying, he’s better than all of them.

-- Something feels wrong about having to wear pants and a jacket during the first few weeks of September. Winter gets fairly cold back home, but fall won’t start until at least midway through October. I guess this is a good fact to keep in mind for the upcoming years.

-- Why couldn’t Tampa beat the Saints? Seriously, guys.

-- A few classmates and I were talking today about why economics graduate programs (and others who force students into economics graduate classes) are the only ones who have a “boot camp” before the program starts. The only thing we can think is that economics is one of the few disciplines where undergraduate and graduate level work have such a large disconnect between the expectations for student knowledge in a related field (mathematics, for us). Can anyone think of others?

-- I've encountered adjustable chairs that always fall to the lowest height before, and that made me assume failing to overcome gravity was the default flaw in these chairs. The one I have now does the opposite--if left alone, it always returns to the highest setting. Every time I sit in it, I get confused because of my expectations.

-- Am I the only one who loves watching Peyton Manning commercials? My new favorite is of course the Oreo "Double Stuff Racing League" commercial that also includes the Williams sisters of tennis, specifically the part where Peyton announces that for himself and Eli, "it's on like Donkey Kong." He seems to have a great sense of humor (judging by his other commercials), and I can't wait to see him on TV when he retires from the NFL.