Obama's confronts obnoxious fan in Philly

This is crazy footage from a campaign stop by Senator Barack Obama in Philadelphia. It's pretty amazing that the Secret Service let this guy badger and badger Obama over and over - all for a stupid picture.

Sometimes when I see stuff like this, I fear for all of the candidates on the campaign trail - if a guy can get this angry over not getting a picture, I shudder at what could happen if someone got really angry. I don't know why, but I really did get chills watching this, and I thought of Mark David Chapman - the delusional man who shot John Lennon in December 1980.

My fear stuff of like this crosses over party lines, too. When I worry about our presidential candidates, I worry about all of them, not just Democrats. God bless 'em all, and thank God for Secret Service agents who put their lives on the line every day to keep our leaders safe from all of the nutcases and wackos.

Update:
It appears as though McCain is eschewing Secret Service protection, for now. My first thought when I read it is, "he must be nuts," and I still feel that way. This strikes me as macho, reckless behavior. I just got this from The Hill via HuffPo:

"[McCain] has not requested protection," Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan told a congressional subcommittee this morning. "We have no involvement at this point."

In opting not to take the protection, McCain is following through on plans he outlined to reporters late last year on his Straight Talk Express campaign bus.

Members of the House Appropriations Homeland Security subcommittee were surprised by Sullivan's revelation. Sullivan said his agency had been in contact with McCain's staff. But a candidate has no legal requirement to take protection.

What's more, last November went even further than these recent comments, giving a preview of what security detail he would tolerate should he win the White House:

"It's my intention, if we win this nomination, to reject Secret Service," he said during one of his many conversations with reporters on his Straight Talk Express this weekend. "Why do I need it?"

He adds: "The day that the Secret Service can assure me that if we're driving in the motorcade and there's a guy in a rooftop with a rifle, that they can stop that guy, then I'll say fine. But the day they tell me, 'well, we can't guarantee it,' then fine, I'll take my chances."

McCain rejected Secret Service protection in 2000, after winning the New Hampshire primary. But he wants to go further, rejecting the massive security apparatus should he become president.

"It's the inconvenience," McCain said. "It's the inconvenience it causes people. It's a waste of the taxpayers money. It's just everything I don't like."

These comments are some the most reckless, careless things that I've ever heard a candidate for president ever say. It's NOT a waste of taxpayers' money - the presidency is bigger than one man. If it's "everything he doesn't like," or he finds it an "inconvenience," then he shouldn't be running for president, period.

As a final exclamation point, maybe someone should show him footage of Robert Kennedy in June of 1968, and then see if he thinks it's still a waste of taxpayer money. There has not been a serious assassination attempt of a president or a presidential candidate in a long time, or at least the ones the public knows a great deal about - I'm sure candidates and presidents get many threats that aren't publicly revealed, for obvious reasons.

I'm wondering if McCain is taking for granted the Secret Service's stellar track record of keeping presidents and presidential candidates safe. He should not, and if he becomes president, he shouldn't have a choice.

Dem debate tonight @ 9; I'll live-blog it

The Democratic presidential candidates are here in Philadelphia for another debate tonight ~ this time it's at Drexel University, just a stone's throw from where we live. (At left, workers prep the room for tonight's big donkey showdown.) I thought about going over there tonight to try and hear what's going on and maybe even get some pictures, but I decided against it - I'm sure security there will be tight and intense, and I'd much rather be in front of the TV where I can hear everything.

The debate starts at 9 p.m. tonight on MSNBC, and I will live blog it, so check back often for my thoughts on how things are going. Downer ~ it's been hosted by the intolerably arrogant Brian Williams. I won't even get into why I dislike him - I've blogged about that at length already.

Anyway, it should be interesting tonight to see how the front runners do, and how they attack each other. The Iowa Caucus for the Democrats is scheduled for January 14, just two-and-a-half months away. It's go time, and the heat is getting turned up on the likes of John Edwards and Bill Richardson, both of whom are sagging quite badly in the polls.

Amazing lightning pic of Empire State Bldg.

This morning, I found this amazing picture of lightning striking the Empire State Building yesterday. What an awesome shot. I'd credit the photographer, but I've found it on multiple sites, and none of them have identified who took it.

Thunderstorms are one of my favorite things about summer. Anyone who has sat through a Philly thunderstorm on a hot, sticky evening knows who's boss - Mother Nature, as always.

I've always wanted to photograph lightning, and someday I will. It's not the easiest thing to photograph - when opportunity and luck meet, I just might get a good shot. I'd love to get one half as cool as this one.

The City of Brotherly... Mother - - - - - - -!

This is the site that greeted me yesterday as I went to leave for work. It's the second time my car has been hit since Vandra and I have been together, and the third time in my life I've lost a window in Philadelphia because some dirtbag is looking to make a couple of bucks.

The worst part is that the thieve(s) didn't even make off with much (or I guess that's the best part, depending on your perspective) - just my Sirius Satellite Radio cradle, and they ruined the magnetic antenna. I ordered a new set from eBay today for $43, so it could have been a lot worse.

I hate it when something like this happens, because it feels like you've been violated. Sigh. I guess that's life in the city - you take the good with the bad.

Worst of all is the inconvenience; I had to cancel my classes yesterday and make frantic phone calls to see if I could find an auto repair shop that would fix my window yesterday. It's amazing how many places say, "I can fit you in on Tuesday" when you call on Thursday for a window. (All of this while their yellow page ad reads, "Emergency 24 Hour Service," which makes me wonder what the "Emergency Service" entails. Perhaps people come over to your house to cheer you up or something, but I digress.)

Anyway, I found a place - and I got a new window installed for $85. Well, a new "used" window, but what do I care if a window's been used?

All in all, it could have been far worse. I guess the MFers who broke my window are the luckiest of all though, because I wouldn't have been thinking about possible jail sentences if I had something in my hand to bludgeon them with.

Okay, I don't really mean that, but just once, just once, I would love to catch someone doing that to my property.

My first thought yesterday was, "I hate this !@#$%$##@! city and I can't wait to move away." I guess I still have some of those thoughts, but, put more accurately, it's more like, "I hate some of the things that happen in the city."

Philly, you incomplete me.

Philly really CAN be the City of Brotherly Love

Sometimes I get on Philadelphia's case, and rightfully so - crime, corrupt government, totally pathetic sports teams, an abysmal recycling program, the list could go on and on.

But, on the whole, I love city life. Our time in Philly isn't going to last forever, so sometimes I try to stop and smell the roses. And sometimes you run across people in the city who make that smell just a little bit sweeter.

Valentine's week was a nightmare for traveling in the city because of a Valentine's Day snowstorm. What's really bad about getting snow in Philly is that when the side streets are plowed, a big lump of snow/ice forms between the street and the rows of cars, which quickly turns to ice after the first day of warm weather and then a night of freezing. That, combined with the enormous piles of plowed snow, limits already tight parking conditions.

Well, Vandra parked essentially on top of a snow pile this past week because there were no spots left. The next morning, I was running later than I wanted, and her car was hopelessly stuck. A guy who was walking his dog happened by, and a neighbor came out to help with a bag of salt and an extra shovel. Five minutes later, her car was freed.

We thanked both men profusely, and I told our neighbor down the street who helped us "I owe you one." I have to pay that one forward - it was awfully nice of both of them to stop and lend a hand.

Sometimes the city wrongfully gets a bad rep, but there really are nice, helpful people, too.

In the spirit of winter weather, here's two winter-themed YouTube clips that I got a kick out of.



This one is hilarious. I can only wonder if the kids meant to do it on purpose.



I can sympathise with the drivers in this clip. I'll drive in just about any amount of snow, but ice - forget it.

Some random pictures

One of my New Year's Resolutions that I'm happy to write I'm sticking to is to have a camera with me pretty much all the time. Every day when I make the long journey to my job, I bring my new trusty HP Photosmart R967 with me. As much as I love my Canon EOS 5D, it's not always practical for me to take it everywhere. If all else fails, I always have my Motorola Razr phone, which has a below average digital camera.

It's not like I expect to capture wonderful, perfect images in my every day travels, but that's not the point. I just wanted to have the following situation happen as seldom as possible this year: "I wish I had a camera with me!"

Having said that, I captured a few in the last week or so that I thought I'd share.

I got this one from my car on Super Bowl Sunday, on my way to the store. This was taken on the corner of Broad and Vine Sts. in Philadelphia. I wasn't aware that Marvin Harrison is a native Philadelphian, but he is - he is a graduate of Roman Catholic High School (the school above.)

Regardless of Harrison's pedigree, it's awfully brave for a school to put up a sign like that in Philly. I'm sure more than a few Eagles fans considered knocking out a few windows, at the very least.

Anyway, it's not often you see a prominent sign in Philly that's rooting for a non-home team, so it was worth a shot.

Once I got to Shoprite to do some Super Bowl shopping last Sunday, I parked in front of the car above, and I immediately reached for my camera. Really, it defies description. I don't have the words, other than to say that the stuff on the hood isn't some artsy design, unless you consider dive-bombing birds artsy.

Simply hilarious.

Once I reached the checkout, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the latest edition of The Globe. Evidently, the Bushes have separated. Who knew? And why isn't the mainstream press picking up on this story? *Laughing*

Anyway, I have many more pictures of the serious variety that I will post later in the weekend - including Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and the Super Bowl. I know, I know, I've been promising them for a while, but I just finished up what can only be described as a super crappy week. So, this weekend's catch-up time.

Philly gets something right

Philly is finally getting it in gear with its recycling program, and I couldn't be happier! The city is finally picking up "1" & "2" plastics. It isn't great, but it's a start.

How frustrating is it that I'm trying to go green in a number of different ways, but, up until July 10, I lived in a major American city that did not pick up plastic for recycling?

It's progress, and I'll take it. Now, how about 3-7 plastics, Philly? Get going!

The City of Brotherly Flood

Man, is it getting ugly on the Schuylkill River. Today, I took a quick tour of the Art Museum area, and what I saw was quite a sight to behold. This morning I heard on the news that the river will reach historic highs - higher than it has ever been in recorded history. That's saying a lot, when you consider Hurricane Agnes in '72 and Floyd in '99.

Schuylkill is an Indian word meaning "hidden stream," because the origins of the river are not easily defined; there's not one definitive source like a bay or reservoir - it's a series of springs. Well, there's nothing hidden about the river now. Take a look. ...



Above is a view of the Schuylkill River flowing by Boathouse Row (top) and the Philadelphia Water Works (foreground).



Check out the river in pictures I took earlier today. Yikes! And it's expected to rise higher and higher and crest sometime early Thursday, but the river will take days to recede. More photos...



Boathouse Row. There'll be no rowing anytime soon.



A view of the Spillway from Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (formerly West River Drive). Grrrr! Angry river.



Another view of the Spillway from the Water Works side of the river.



These giant upcurrents (I don't know what else to call them - if it were air it would be an updraft) appear over and over about 100 feet or so past the dam. Translation: anything that gets thrown over the spillway either gets caught in the undercurrent right by the dam or gets sucked under and pulled along the bottom until it reaches this point. This is the number one lesson about why to never swim near a dam. If, heaven forbid, someone came over the dam when the water is this high? Death.



Yet another view from the Water Works side of the river. I watched this giant tree get slammed over the spillway, roiling in the spillway's strong currents and getting banged against the dam before drifting in front of me and down in front of the Water Works. The power of the current that the spillway generates during high water is remarkable.



This is a view looking up near the spillway - there were lots of people out gawking and taking pictures today.



The trash that the currents swept up near the Water Works. It's tough to comprehend all of the crap that floats by when you stand and watch the river. I counted 25 tires, an infinite number of plastic bottles and balls of all sorts, hundreds of huge stumps and limbs, a Playmate cooler, and an enormous propane tank that probably belonged to a mobile home or large house, 3 doors and a whole set of steps. And this was all in only about 45 minutes time. The depressing thing about all of this? It's all headed to the ocean. Hey, a flood is a flood, and it's usually unexpected and poorly prepared for, but it really saddens me to see so many plastic bottles needlessly headed toward the ocean. Yet another reason for all of us to redouble our recycling efforts.