/mike

August has been kind. The Angels and A's have both won 10 of 11 in what is becoming a division race to remember. It's wonderful to watch good baseball. Boston comes in for the next few days.

Cindy and I went to Friday's win over the Twins. The good guys were blowing the other team out so we played the Carnival style baseball games out near Left Field. We tried pitching (I hit... 48 mph), and tested our time to first base. I was fastest among little leaguers.

The way I see this election, it is generally 1. a referendum on Bush, 2. a character test on Kerry, and 3. about the War on Terror.

Low on the list but still within the umbrella of foreign policy is China and Taiwan. Last night, it came up during a conversation with my brother. This subject is important to me. Thankfully, Todd Crowell writes an opinion piece about this very subject in today's Seattle Times. Interesting stuff.

So will China attack Taiwan in the next four years? My guess is no (certainly not before the next Olympics!), but it's something to keep an eye on. And I don't care what Hero says, I'm all for protecting Taiwan.

Polls are really fun ways to keep score, but I never fully trust them. In fact, I can't help but come up with playful conspiracy theories.

Here are the recent poll results, linked from Kaus (Slate) to Realclearpolitics.

FOX News (1,000 LV) 8/24 - 8/25 Kerry +1
CNN/USAT/Gallup (LV) 8/23 - 8/25 Bush +3
Rasmussen (1,500 LV) 8/23 - 8/25 Bush +1
LA Times (1,352 RV) 8/21 - 8/24 Bush +3

When I saw this, I immediately wondered: How can (supposedly right leaning) FOX have Kerry winning when (supposedly left leaning) CNN/Rasmussen/LA Times all have Bush leading?

So here's the theory. These polls are in preparation for the Republican convention. Left-leaning polls WANT Bush to do well now, so they can claim that he doesn't get much of a "bounce" after the Republicans get their week in the spotlight. And if you are Right-leaning, deflating Bush's current numbers can prepare them to give him a larger "bounce".

It's like when we give movie recommendations. It's all about setting the right expectations!!! Isn't it always better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed?

Or maybe this is all within the standard error of polls and Bush is just doing well in August in general.

Anyone can guess as much, but initial reports indicate that the two Russian planes that crashed this week look like they were brought down by Islamic Chechen Terrorists. The attack is being connected to Chechen separatists and the upcoming Chechen election (which is sadly enough, to replace a guy who was assasinated).

You know, a friend and fellow blogger in NY recently wrote that the thought of Bush getting the nomination so close to her makes her sick to her stomach.

While I appreciate her gut response to current events, I'm looking forward to next week's Republican convention. Unfortunately, with Spain and now Russia in mind, my worry is that America may be next in line for election-time terrorism.

I got Hugh Hewitt's book, In, But Not Of : A Guide to Christian Ambition. It reads like proverbs from a wise uncle who tells me things that I already know but never believed. Wouldn't it be something if it changed my life?

Cindy, Matt and I dropped by Barney's last night for some good Monday happy hour fare. Solid calamari, buffalo wings, shrooms and Hefeweizen for cheap prices are always welcome. During dinner, we all agreed that a proper diet isn't necessarily about what we eat, but how much we eat and how active we live. So beer served with fried foods and ranch is ok, right?

Matt got back from Taiwan last night and brought us a bunch of goodies, including:

Instant Noodle

Pink Grapefruit Mentos

Crazy Chinese Gum

I don't ever remember having Olympic fever like this. In general, I've never been very interested but it's caught my attention this time. Of all the events I've watched, Women's Team Volleyball has been the best.

Also, my first impression of that Australian celebrity swimmer, Ian Thorpe, is that he rubs me the wrong way.

Here's Jesse and Tammy at his 30th birthday party this past week.

I'm enjoying going on these missions for Cindy as she prepares for graduation. Last night we relaxed by ordering pizza and playing Eye Toy.

Yesterday was the Port of LA Softball Championship game. We ended up losing in a blowout. The silver lining is that I was one-for-two with a single, RBI, run, and walk. I also got to play centerfield.

Turnout to watch the game was pretty good, probably becuase there were free mexican food the beer. I'm surprised how "not myself" I feel when I'm with coworkers.

Does anyone want to be a longshoreman? They are hiring.

Dockworkers handle the loading and unloading of cargo containers from ships, railways and tractor-trailers. Fully registered Longshoremen can earn six-figure incomes and benefits after several years, so the jobs are highly coveted.

Big bucks right? FYI, I heard a report that Port employees can give recommendations that put an applicant to the top of the list but that is actually referring to Longshoremen and doesn't apply to Harbor department employees like myself.

Yesterday, the Angels celebrated Troy Percival's 300th save. He is only the 18th player in history to accomplish this feat (the statistic was established in 1969).

I didn't get to watch, but instead heard it all on the radio while on the road. I'll say this for my beloved Angels, they are quite a classy organization now.

They went on to get blown out by the Orioles. I hope I'm wrong, but look to the A's to run away with the AL West. The Angels will have to duke it out with Texas and Boston for the wild card. It's a race to see who chokes first.

I'm going to tonight's game on a secret mission for Cindy. If I succeed, I'll post about it later. If not, it'll never be mentioned here again!

Here's a peek of what I see from my desk.

Does anyone else have any problems with a excessively strong digicam flash? Cindy said she heard that some people cover the flash with scotch tape to temper the brightness. I tried it today and I think it worked! Test it out if you're having the same problem.

Here are some pictures of me and Cindy from some recent Angel games.

I'm happy I know where to park for free.

Cindy's cool with it too. She's adorable!

We go for walks during blow outs.

Cindy stays occupied by taking photos.

I still like the fake rocks.

Despite not playing great baseball, the Angels are tied for the wild card and only one and a half games out of first place. Today's a good day.

Fascinating news on SUVs from Slate. They’re illegal:

By weighing in at more than 6,000 pounds, big SUVs are prohibited on thousands of miles of road in California. Cities across the state—including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Santa Monica—use the 3-ton cutoff for many or nearly all of their residential streets.

Not only that, these same SUVs also qualify for tax breaks:

If you claim you use a 3-ton truck exclusively for work, you can write it off immediately. All of it. Up to $100,000 (in fact, Congress raised the limit from $25,000 just last year). Heavy SUVs qualify for similar state tax breaks in California (up to $25,000) and elsewhere.

Read the whole article.

I'd also like to propose we limit both the width of a car and the height of headlights.

I'm finally 28 and old enough to man my own grill! After that rite of passage, I'm ready to focus on preparing for an exam to qualify as a Certified Planner. This will my my first big exam since taking the SAT. The exam will be in November, so I have a few months to go through the $300 worth of recommended reading and study materials I bought. Certification is quite a money pit, but I'll be proud to earn an A.I.C.P. on my business card.

While skimming through the California Chapter APA magazine, I found some good resources to prepare me for the exam. Unfortunately, I also found this:

The Commission is in the middle of a large effort to improve minority pass rates.

Hmph! As a minority, I'd like to respond with a respectful "Thanks, but no thanks." I prefer to pass or fail on my own.