I must say, the weather here in NC the past 2 weeks have been rather nice! On most days we have been enjoying highs of high 70s, and lows in the mid 50s -- it's wonderful! I managed a good number of runs this past 2 weeks. My 4 day trip to Phoenix later this week for a conference won't be fun after this (the highs are ~ 105 & lows in the mid 70s). Marc is tapering as he enters his marathon week. Wish him luck in the Twin Cities, MN!

Because we don't have a TV, I only just caught Sarah Palin's interview with Katie Couric on the internet this past weekend. To say that I was amazed at how badly she came across is an understatement. I'm sure the GOP's crash-courses on what to say, names of various world leaders, world geography and suddenly being in the political limelight is a lot to take and absorb all at once. Trust me, I would hate to be in her shoes. But this points to the argument that Sarah Palin has no experience! If she did, her head wouldn't be spinning from all this new information. It also highlights my belief that John McCain is rash and impulsive. From a number of instances in his campaign, it seems clear to me that he makes snap judgments (which sells well from a political point of view since it's spun as 'decisive') that can often lead to poor decisions. I wouldn't want a president who makes poorly researched/analyzed decisions and sticks to them even as it becomes increasingly clear that those decisions were wrong ones. Can't say that all decisions by Obama were good ones either, but at least I have more faith that he gave them sufficient thought and paid attention to the details and nuances.

Looking forward to the VP debate on Thursday. Hope the carnage (on both sides!) won't be too bad.

~ Shuwen