Sick

 The plagues of Egypt have hit our home (minus the locusts and rivers of blood). Hopefully everyone will be feeling better by Monday. Or, preferably, tomorrow.

Image courtesy of here.

Interesting poll results (should I drop The Other Drummer name?)

While I figured most people would tell me to get a Facebook account, I'm very surprised that 81 percent of people want me to keep The Other Drummer instead of using my real name as the URL. Would you be so kind as to enlighten me as to why you voted the way you did? Please let me know in the comments - I'm extremely curious.

Today, we're all winners: FCC Approves Unlicensed Use Of “White Spaces” Spectrum

 

Think wifi on steroids. Everywhere. This could be a big deal. Read about it here.

Vote!

Today's the day. Or, if you voted early, the last two weeks have been the day. I already didn't vote for Obama or McCain and the whole experience only took 30 minutes. Not too shabby at all. In fact, early reports today say that lines are moving quickly - about 45 minutes from getting in line to leaving the polls.

I share these sentiments from Sarah:

...The poll worker may not even ask you for an ID [seriously disturbing...seriously], the amendments may sound like they were written by a 5th grader with a thesaurus but no dictionary, and you may not even be entirely 100% certain which is the lesser of two evils…but the democratic process–and the promise it holds– is still worth celebrating, worth defending, worth participating in.

Plus, you could probably eat for free all day with the rewards Starbuck’s, Krispy Kreme, Chipotle, Chick-Fil-A and Ben & Jerry’s are offering for that little red “I voted” sticker.

So get out there and vote. And if you have any last minute questions, they can most likely be answered at LeaveYourPrint.com (voting location, candidates and issues on your ballot, etc.) And I've added a poll about the polls in the upper right corner. So cast your vote again up there and then tell me why in the comments below.

Another Bun in the oven

Yup. We're expecting again. Due at the end of May.

P.S. No, I will not be putting the widget back up.

Why I didn't vote for Obama

Allow me to preface this post: this is going to be extremely personal and emotional. It will touch deeply on my personal beliefs as well as my political stance on some sensitive issues. While I will cite doctrine from my church, which I testify is true, the conclusions I come to about those doctrines are my own, not necessarily those of the Church.

"I don't want to vote for McCain and I won't vote for Obama." That's the little phrase I've come up with to explain my feelings about this election. I'm happy with either candidate.

That being said, Obama is probably the walking definition of charismatic. When I've listened to some of his speeches I admit do feel inspired and feel like he would be an excellent leader. Despite these things, I still wouldn't vote for Obama. Here's why:

Obama supports not only abortion, but partial-birth abortion. In fact, he even made a speech in favor of post-birth "abortion". (You can read his full speech in chapter 10 of The Case Against Barack Obama by David Freddoso.)

Obama also wants to redefine the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman and voted against a federal amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

Now, one might ask why I put so much emphasis on these two topics when there are other very important things to consider including the war in Iraq, health care, energy issues, the economy, etc.. It's because of The Family: A Proclamation to the World which was given by God through his prophet. I hold it in the same reverence as I do the Bible, Book of Mormon, and other scripture.

In the Proclamation it states (in part - see the above link for the full document):

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children....

We warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

Note that it doesn't say high taxes, outrageous government spending, wars, or lack of health care will bring upon us calamities. The disintegration of the family will. I don't consider those idle words, nor do I think they're figurative.

Which candidate "promotes [the] measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society"? It's not Obama. And while that's not the only factor to consider when casting your vote, I believe it's the most important.

Meat. Lots of meat.

I think this was the largest steak I'd ever seen. Supposedly, it was 18 oz (net weight before cooking). Ha. There's probably two pounds of meat there.

I was pleased with how much of it I ate.


That is all.