Life is a State of Mind

I have four essentially brand new (~1800 miles on them) Good Year Eagle Ultra Grip tires available.

These are sold as an all season radial, one of the very few that manages to earn Canada’s prestigious “Snowflake on the Mountain” rating for Winter traction. I used them as Winter tires only on my old Saab 9-5 Wagon and switched out to a quieter all-season each Spring. These things have amazing grip on snow, ice, and in slushy or wet conditions. When it is dry, they are a little noiser than most all-season radials.

They were about $800 for the set brand new, they are up for grabs if you can provide them a good home.
Size: 215/55 R16 93H - if you have that size wheels, and you get snow or ice, you’ll love these tires!

I also have one Michelin MXM 225/45 R 17 (91W) tire (essentially new) mounted on a 17″ alloy rim (5/110 lug pattern). This was intended to be a mounted full size spare for my old Saab - which I no longer have. I’d rather have the space back in my garage. Again, free to a good home.

I am spending the day canvassing for Corey Riley (for Gainesville Supervisor of the PWC Board) and Bruce Roemmelt (for Delegate from the 13th district). Both canvasses will be during the day Saturday, and both will be in Prince William County in and around Manassas. If you want to join me; call/im/email/comment.

We have to get people out to vote and to take charge of their own government.

The last day to register to vote is Tuesday, October 9th (would normally be the 8th, but that is a holiday) if you want to vote in this year’s November 6th general election. So get your paper-work in order and get registered so you can vote this year!

Virginia State Board of Elections information on how to register:
http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/Voter_Information/Registering_to_Vote/Index.html

Yikes! It’s been over a week since the last update… guess we’ve been busy.

The inspiration for this update is that Sutragirl and I learned about a new Italian restaurant in Aldie at Stone Ridge shopping center called Ciro. We enjoyed an excellent meal, very good Italian white wine and the best gelato I’ve ever had.

Today I spent slowly recovering from yesterday’s visit to the ENT. What was supposed to be a routine checkup 6 months after surgery turned into a very painful polyp hunt; I am on steroids again, and anti-biotics, and ant-acids to counteract the steriod’s effects on my tummy. Damned polyps keep coming back.

I’ve been dancing a lot. Freestyles was exhausting, but in a good way, with lots and lots of fun. I am slowly working on Argentine Tango with Sutragirl and Darryl. It’s also time to prepare for Atlantic City Dance-O-Rama.

The Virginia political arena is heating up for this November 6th election. If you are not registered, register to vote. Get involved in a local campaign or two. It is very important we get who we want in the Virginia legislature. I am still working on a list of offices and candidates, but it is not complete yet.

We’ve started watching Heroes, and it is fascinating.

Last night I had lots of fun dancing Salsa-Rueda with Michele’s class at The Ballroom Studio in Centreville. We had two guys more than we had girls, but it was still loads of fun. I also had two excellent lessons with MJ and Dan at Tyson’s Corners Arthur Murray, one solo and one with Erci. Monday I had an afternoon lesson with Missy at Arthur Murray, and a couples lesson with MJ. I think I am almost ready for freestyles.

Tuesday night was another volunteer night with the Bruce Roemmelt for Delegate campaign, and work has been a pressure cooker lately with all the server moves from Reston, though our team is nearly finished with that (yay). Have I mentioned what an awesome team I work with?

So I have been seeing short spots on NewsChannel 8 (DC Area 24 hour news channel, owned by ABC and having a strong moderate conservative tone) that I am not sure are paid advertisements or public service announcements… but I smell a rat.

These are short commercials trying to point out the very laudible goal of having a plan for your own family in the event of disaster (natural or otherwise). That seems good enough, but the entire tone of the ~90 second spots is all about fear. The ad points viewers to makeaplan.org which is clearly operated by the department for home land security. I also notice that this ad, spreading fear of terrorist attack is being aired only during the Virginia political season. I smell a rat.

Are tax-payer dollars being used to fund public service announcements that have a political agenda during the election season? Is this legal or ethical? Am I just overly paranoid?

Having said all that - the clear message is a good one. Half of surviving any accident or disaster is being able to act quickly on a good comprehensive plan. I just wish I did not think we were having a repeat of those ever-changing national alert levels that only changed during the election cycles of the past…

Update: A whois search reveals the website is registered to “Emergency Management Agency” in Washington, DC. Part of FEMA and therefore Homeland Security I think.

Fall Freestyles, Arthur Murray dance competitions are at Sheraton in Tyson’s Corners this coming Friday night and Saturday. We’ll be there. We are ready for Quickstep, not so ready for West Coast Swing…

It gradually got warmer and warmer here in Virginia, ending in the mid 90s on Saturday, but it has remained cooler than usual and relatively low humidity continues to prevail. The weather has made breafasts on the patio and outdoor dining a joy.

Personal update, wine, and dance after the fold…
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If you live in Prince William County, and you don’t know who your candidates are for this year’s November election of state, county, and local officials, the PW Committee of 100 Political Forum Series is one great way to see your candidates square off against their opponents in a debate forum.

The series runs from September 13th through October 18th, and will allow the contenders for State Senate districts 29 and 39, State House of Delegates districts 13, 31, 50, 51, and 52, Prince William County Sheriff, two open county supervisor seats (Woodbridge and Gainesville) as well as Chairman of the Board of County Supervisors and Clerk of the Court offices. Mark your calendars now.

The appalling thing is that most of the debate series will not be televised, and given our horrible traffic patterns it will be a real effort to make any, let alone all of the debates in person. I’d love to see bloggers coordinate an effort to record all the debates and make them available to all voters electronically so we can view on our own time table.

Consider this a call to do just that…

Also, we can submit questions to the debates ahead of time I think, but I am still trying to find out how…

Wow, three absolutely gorgeous days in a row here in Virginia. 68 - 86 degrees, low humidity, light breezes, cloudless skies, and all on a long weekend! Even better, we spent them with La Belle Compagnie friends, recruits, and members at our Summer Gathering and then visiting the Sackler Gallery of Art to see the Encompassing the Globe: Portugal and the World in the 16th and 17th Centuries exhibit (on for a few more weeks, btw). Exhibits are beautiful and very well written.