America turns off the snooze alarm

Good morning, America. This is a new day. The long, dark night of the Bush misadministration ended last yesterday, and today the sun rose on something that promises to be very different. It is my fervent hope that the tone set by President Obama in his speech yesterday indeed heralds a positive change in this nation: not only in how we treat our citizens here at home, but in how we relate to the rest of the world. And you will note that I have personalized that. The United States is not an it; the United States is a we. From the White House to the State house, to your house and my house, we're all in this together. And so we have to work together if we want to rebuild the American Dream, if we want to ensure that every man, woman and child in this nation has not only hope for the future, but also has what we need today. Because this is the future we looked forward to, and it is time to roll up our sleeves, forget about who is red or blue, black or white, and focus on the fact that we are all Americans, and we stand or fall together.

Here's a somewhat humorous take on this change, author unfortunately unknown, that's making the rounds today:

Dear World:

We, the United States of America , your top quality
supplier of the ideals of liberty and democracy,
would like to apologize for our 2001-2008 interruption
in service. The technical fault that led to this eight-
year service outage has been located, and the software
responsible was replaced November 4. Early tests of
the newly installed program indicate that we are now
operating correctly, and we expect it to be fully
functional on January 20. We apologize for any
inconvenience caused by the outage. We look forward
to resuming full service and hope to improve in
years to come. We thank you for your patience and
understanding.

Sincerely,
The United States of America

We're all on the tech support team, though, so look sharp and let's keep this thing running properly.

Heartwarming story

Coast Guard rescues black swan trapped by river ice. More info with update and closeup photo of the swan, safe after rescue, here.

You think Cleveland has snow?

It's nothing compared to what came down recently in western New York, where I grew up. (For those playing along at home, I grew up in Chautauqua County, just a couple of miles from the Lakewood mentioned in the article.)

My name is Summer, and I'm a geek... or is that nerd? Which meeting am I at, again?

Apparently, some creative soul has rendered the Star Wars theme music in Japanese pop style, complete with lyrics.

Sponsor an executive today!

I love Canadian comedy.

This is just wrong

Is it just me, or does it seem that favoring a former head of foreign government over the President-elect of the United States when it comes to the use of the Presidential guesthouse just might be a major breach of protocol?

Especially when the President-elect was denied use of the guesthouse before said former head of said foreign government was booked into said guesthouse? (Or so said Margaret Carlson to Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. I have yet to find other sources backing this up, but let's just say I wouldn't put it past Bush & Co. to do this and then juggle people and things in an attempt to make the denial look legit.)

Blair House is HUGE - 119 rooms, 35 bathrooms. Howard and the Obamas couldn't have shared? Howard couldn't have stayed in a hotel? The Australian Embassy? The freakin' White House? But no, Bush and his cronies had to snub the incoming President and his family, including two little girls about to start out in a new school.

Fourteen more days to go, people. Only fourteen more days.

Januaryish

Cold, but no precipitation. Ground and sidewalks mostly clear and dry. Am eagerly awaiting spring. Also, this postnasal drip and tickling cough can go away now, kthnx.