Relive your 80’s Christmases here.  Adjust the rabbit ears for optimal nostalgia.

I’ve made a bit more progress on the gazebo recently. More than I’ve had time to post on this blog.

Today I started the second trellis. But not before measuring across from the top of the first trellis to check the level. I was then able to mark out 1′ spaces on the middle post of the second trellis with the confidence that my trellises would be level with each other.

In finally got started on my gazebo this week. Our roof and fence had to be replaced post-Hurricane Gustav. With those things finished I felt like I could work on the gazebo without worrying about a bunch of people walking through my backyard.

The ten foot posts I have look pretty tall once you put them upright. I may cut about a foot off.

I wasn’t sure if this post was going to stand on it’s own, but it’s been up for four days now. A couple of braces did the trick. More posts coming soon!

George Will, of all people, made the case yesterday that John McCain is not suited to the presidency:

Under the pressure of the financial crisis, one presidential candidate is behaving like a flustered rookie playing in a league too high. It is not Barack Obama.

Channeling his inner Queen of Hearts, John McCain furiously, and apparently without even looking around at facts, said Chris Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, should be decapitated.

[…]

McCain’s smear — that Cox “betrayed the public’s trust” — is a harbinger of a McCain presidency. For McCain, politics is always operatic, pitting people who agree with him against those who are “corrupt” or “betray the public’s trust,” two categories that seem to be exhaustive — there are no other people.

Will’s observation was on vivid display today, as John McCain suddenly suspended his campaign and asked for a postponement of Friday’s presidential debate, saying he needed to be in Washington at this time of crisis.  Maybe I’m cynical, but I don’t think anyone in Washington working on the financial industry bailout plan was saying “if only John McCain and Barack Obama were helping us, everything would be OK.”

Jesse Walker at Reason.com summed up McCain’s gambit thusly:

I’d rather debate pressing issues behind closed doors with my colleagues than on national TV where voters might see me.

McCain has had a rough week.  Obama is up in the polls and meddling reporters keep trying to ask his running mate questions.  It’s understandable that he might want to take on the mantle of the burdened leader, suspending his campaign for the good of the country.  But is it a good campaign strategy?  I think Barney Frank put it well:

“It’s the longest Hail Mary pass in the history of either football or Marys.”

From the AP:

Less than a week after balking at the Alaska Legislature’s investigation into her alleged abuse of power, Gov. Sarah Palin on Monday indicated she will cooperate with a separate probe run by people she can fire.