There was an interesting article by NY Times columnist Frank Rich the other day that looks at Hillary Clinton and compares her campaign to the “can’t loose” campaign of Al Gore in 2000. Back then, it was deemed that Gore was the next president. He was the VP. He could have ridden Clinton’s Coat tails right to the office but he didn’t. Along the way he distanced himself and he made mistakes. Appearing disconnected from the country and much of the same could be happening to Clinton. Not because she’s distancing herself from her husbands era but because she’s trying to be everything to everyone.

Rich points out in his column that she’s great when it comes to the book answers but lacks when it comes to answers which require some insight and some personal reflection. She tends to be calculating when it comes to making responses and isn’t leading the pack in new ideas but waiting to see how others fair first and have you heard that laugh (cackle?)? The fact that she’s impersonal could hurt her more than anything and while there isn’t a clear cut republican offering right now, the clear cut democrat, I’m sorry, progressive, candidate might burn out like Gore did in 2000 and Dean did in 2004 (remember how he was the next great thing during those primaries until that scream of his?).

I hope, that Rich turns out to be right and that Clinton does burn out, however I also think it could be fun watching her debate the right choice.

Amy and I like to travel. Her parents live just outside of Chicago now so trips up there are going to be more frequent so we have to get creative on figuring out ways to get there. Luckily I’ve found a new source for cheap travel fares, CheapoAir. CheapoAir Customer Support has become one of the best in the field with hold times dropping 65% over what they were. They have fares to anywhere you want to travel on all the major airlines. Prices are decent too.

Their site is as easy to use as the bigger sites and you can book fares online at CheapoAir.com or over the phone 24 hours a day 7 days a week by calling: 212-478-0335. Couldn’t be easier. One of the nice things about CheapoAir is they seem to live up to their name. I checked and I could get a round trip ticket to Chicago’s Midway Airport for 155.99 on Delta. Thats pretty good and it makes flying almost worth it.

For more information on CheapoAir, check their site. They’re members of the travel industry association, they’re protected by Verisign (so your information is safe) and they are members of the Travel Agents of America Society. Some pretty good things to look for in an online vacation planner. We’ll be using cheapoair.com the next time we need to book a flight.

We’re in a drought. The state is on a state wide watering ban. No outside watering. The Governor has declared October “Take shorter Showers” month in an effort to reduce water usage and Stone Mountain was beginning to make snow using up to 38 gallons of county water a minute. You have to wonder who the heck came up with the idea.

They have a good lake almost across the street that could supply the water for the snow (since thats where its going when it melts) but they felt it wouldn’t be white enough. Its laughable. My grass is dying and I can’t water my flowers, but they can make snow. In OCTOBER. IN GEORGIA! It was in the low 80 degrees the other day when they started. Snow has no chance of lasting in 80 degree weather, no matter how much they make. Fortunately, they’ve stopped for the moment due to the public outcry and criticism they’ve received. We’ll still go to pumpkin fest there this weekend, but we won’t play in the snow.

Growing up we had a BB range in the back yard (there’s a natural pit in my parents back yard with an open end that made the PERFECT bb range) where we would go out and under the supervision of my father shoot targets or tin cans or other items. It was one of the funnest things we did together as brothers with our father and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to teach their children proper gun safety. I plan to teach Grace and Emma the proper use and respect of guns.

The BB gun we had was your standard get it from “Walmart” (except I believe it came from Service Merchandise) bb gun. You had to pump the handle to build up the air pressure for it and it took a good bit too. The newer air guns are a better choice these days. When it comes time to pick one up for teaching the girls I’ll look at several of the models at pyramydair.com. Currently, I like the Webley Raider 10 PCP rifle combo. Its got a 10 shot chamber, scope and enough power to pick off rats or other small prey (not that we have a rat problem…). Its closest to a .22 caliber rifle that I’d like the girls to be comfortable with. Besides, its a gorgeous rifle with a nice walnut stock thats made so righties or lefties can use it with ease. Its the perfect one to learn on.

Not only that but you get a case, scope and acurings with the purchase. Pyramydair ships in the US and has really decent customer service. Plus, they have a coupon for 5% off available to customers who can find the mistake on their site! Does it get any better?

So Amy has had me working downloading some upbeat music to her iPod for her workouts lately and outside of Jock Jams (”LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!”) I wanted some other music on there for her. I came across Colette in the “Electronic/Dance” section at Amie Street. I’ll be one of the first to admit, this music does very little for me. However, the beats are good and fast paced, just what you need to get your blood pumping during a work out.