More Coulter Than Clinton

[eggwards]

If sources are correct, news organizations are saying McCain’s Vice Presidential pick is first-term governor Sarah Palin from Alaska. So for a wow factor the McCain camp gets a “Who?” McCain so wants to pander to the women’s vote that he got what he could, apparently. What happened to EBay CEO Meg Whitman or Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison? This seems like a Dan Quayle type of pick.

Certainly being a Republican from Alaska makes her a big oil pick.

Clearly McCain is trying to fix a problem with women voters. I don’t know if she’ll appeal to Hillary supporters, though. I guess we will see who will vote for a ticket just because there’s a woman on it, and who votes for the platform. Generally I think those Clinton supporters who said they would vote for McCain were not normally going to vote for a Democrat anyway. I guess McCain wants to give them a reason to stick with him.

So I guess the topic of experience will be leveled at both sides. Would Palin be ready to succeed John McCain should he keel over? People will have to take a hard look at her, but we don’t have all that much time. Heck, who watches any politician from Alaska but Ted Stevens? Will Palin be able to teach John McCain about the series of tubes?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barack Obama’s speech last night worked well for me. He seemed to flesh out more about his plans but still kept the speech tight and upbeat. I like what he said, and it looks like he was waiting until that moment to really start fighting back. Now I have more confidence in his ability to really go into the debates and make some hard hits against McCain.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
In something non related, here’s a bit of a pet peeve. When you go to a fast-food chain that still dispenses drinks behind the counter, they often fill the cup with ice before pouring in the little bit of drink they give you. I much prefer the self-serve drink station where I can fill the cup with Dr. Pepper and maybe a cube or two of ice. Generally the fountain is chilled, so you don’t have to cool a hot coke.

Often I’ll get a refill before leaving the restaurant, and if I have to go back to the counter to get it, I’ll dump most of the ice out and hope to get a full cup of soda. Always the person at the counter will ask if I want more ice. Geez, of course I want more ice, the last metric ton just melted away in my cup! You already mark up the drinks on your menu, then you have to water them down with ice too? Grr.

“No,” I’ll say politely, “just more Dr. Pepper, please.”

Did I say I like self-serve drinks?

Comments

[boysnightout82.livejournal.com]

good call on the self-serve, I'll avoid a fast food place if it is behind the counter.

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

I will make a conscious effort to go to places I know have self-service drinks. The McDonalds' are hit an miss, but all Whataburgers and Taco Bells around here are. I guess there's something about franchises. The Chic-fil-a's seem to be the worst offenders with their giant ice cubes taking up most of the cup.

When I was in New York City last month I asked for a refill at McDonald's and they said you have to buy another drink! I was surprised!

[venturebears.livejournal.com]

Ever notice how fast food cups have little lines on the side? The bottom one indicates how much ice the cashier is supposed to fill the cup with, and the top one shows where the drink should be leveled at when the fountain is done dispensing. All fast food cups have the lines marked at roughly the same level, but for some reason, when I eat at Wendy's and get my drink, I feel like there's less in there compared to McD's or BK's.

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

yes, some of them are more obvious than others about that line. The Whataburger chain here in Texas has styrofoam cups that have the line carved into the inside of the cup. It's self serve inside the restaurant so the line is only for the drive through guys - and we all know how I feel about drive throughs (hate it.)

There's also how the ice is formed. Chick-fil-a has these large ice cubes that fit together to fill most of the cup. Sonic has ice pellets that also take up a lot of room. It's all how you pack the area alloted.

[slothel.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'm your complete opposite. I'm always the guy standing there saying, "No. More ice. Even more. Just fill it up. Really. All the way to the top. No, I'm not kidding."

I do like them a little watered-down, I guess, but mostly I like them really, really cold. Even more cold than they come out of the fountain.

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

No problem. It just seems that you would have to go back to the fountain again and again.

You'd like Sonic down here. They have the little ice pellets that melt really quickly in your mouth. If you like to chew on ice, it's the best since it isn't all that hard and the pieces are small. It's sort of like crushed ice. They put a lot of it in their drinks. They use it for their slushes, too.

Also, Chick-fil-A is one of the biggest offenders of this in my book. They never have self-service and always want to drop more ice in when you ask for a refill. They nearly fill the cup. If they weren't giving so much of the profits away to "family" organizations, I'd say that's a place for you!

[slothel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there are certain ice shapes that make me very happy, and Sonic is one of them.

I actually end up not really refilling much, which I guess is a good thing since I refuse to drink diet things. It just means that I end up drinking less soft drinks.

[renbear.livejournal.com]

That scandal, unfortunately, is a non-starter. The person she illegally used influence to fire was an abusive husband to her sister. (Or some such, can't remember the details.) We won't be able to use it. :-(

[renbear.livejournal.com]

Well, I hope you're right.

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

I think the scandal isn't much to write home about, but it will be an issue dogging her for the next couple of months because there's so little else to talk about her. Hopefully she herself will show the rest of us that she isn't ready for this.

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

I think Geraldine Ferraro had more experience when she was picked. Sure, Pailn is a governor, but how hard is it to become governor in a State that has fewer people in it than the greater Washington DC area? I think she will take criticism from the women of the Christian Right to be running for office when she has a new born baby, a special needs child, no less. She also has no foreign policy exposure at all, which is bad for someone who attends a lot of state funerals.

I think McCain picked her more for the surprise and shock value - necessary to get people to quit talking about the Obama Speech the day before, and talk about his campaign. Shock and Awe with no plan for the long term - where have we seen that before.

It's sad when you know everyone is concerned with McCain's age that he pulls off a stunt that could have someone unvetted and untested become president.

[gorkabear.livejournal.com]

Ah, but you can get free refills there?
(I know you can)
Here it's cup per cup paid, and tiny bottle of water paid each time!

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

Most fast food places in Texas will give you free refills. For a while it was a promotion for McDonald's, but all the competing restaurants started doing it as well, and marked up the price of the drinks. It made an easy transition to self-service drink fountains where the counter help doesn't have to do it.

I was surprised in New York City last month that they didn't have free refills, but I guess they don't make as much of a profit there since prices are already very high.

[gorkabear.livejournal.com]

My experience in MA, PA and CA was similar... Most of the places had free refills!