When he’s not trying to make it out like he single-handedly saved the world by suspending his campaign — where was Palin and why didn’t she step up? — to solve the economic crisis, he’s making a big deal about Obama’s previous statements that he’d be willing to meet with foreign leaders without precondition.

First, and let me get this one out of the way, if McCain has all of the answers about the nation’s economic ills, I wonder why he felt the need to suspend the campaign and “rush” back to Washington to begin with:  why didn’t he take care of these issues while they were still merely possibilities? Why did it have to go this far before he took action?  Isn’t fending off problems before they happen part of leadership?

As for the whole precondition debate, I’d love it if we could never hear this word again.

I wish our candidates for the Oval Office would just drop it.  It’s a pointless debate:  whether the president himself or one of his representatives further down the chain of command meets with someone without setting specific requirements or not, a meeting without precondition will have already happened.  So what real difference does who conducts the meeting actually make?

And if the president is supposed to be our chief representatives to other countries, then shouldn’t he have the option — even if he never, ever uses it — to make such a meeting in a crisis?

Let’s go back to Hillary’s famous 3am phone call scenario.  A crisis happens.  A quick decision has to be made.  The president needs to make contact with a foreign leader.  What do you prefer to have happen: a series of meetings between lower-level people with preconditions that have to be met before the process can move forward so that people in the next level up can then get together, working their way up to a meeting of the two leaders; or our president getting the other nation’s leader on the phone in whatever manner it takes to resolve a crisis before it escalates to something worse?

And let me save you some time:  if you believe that in a crisis, preconditions should be thrown out of the window in favor of solving a problem with as small a cost as possible, then the whole argument over preconditions goes right out the window with it.  If you’re for preconditions sometimes, then you’re obviously not against them all of the time, so why engage in such a pointless argument?

It’s not an example of the naivate of a would-be president who says preconditions may not be imposed; it’s an example of the naivate of voters who’d allow themselves to be fooled by an obvious smokescreen that blinds us to the real problems in the world.

Like the economy, stupid.

I like almost every kind of music. If you were to browse my iTunes library or my iPod, you’d find everything from Classical to Pop to Jazz and almost everything in between. I’m not a fan of country per se, but I have a couple of country-ish songs somewhere in there. I’m not a fan of rap at all, and I think it’s probably the only genre that isn’t represented.

Since I started attending my current church, where Archie has been the worship leader, I have been exposed to a different kind of church music. The pipe organ and piano has been replaced with electric guitars, keyboards, violins and drums. I’ve picked on Archie about costing me money at iTunes because when he does a song I like — and there hasn’t been one I’ve heard him do so far that I didn’t — I will invariably end up adding it to my library. And I’ve also picked on him that I end up liking his version better than the original artists’, which is entirely true.

I decided I would list ten songs, many of which I’ve heard Archie perform, that are among my favorites when it comes to contemporary Christian music. If you’ve never heard them, go to iTunes and give the samples a listen. I’ve noted in parentheses the artists I listen to on iTunes; I don’t know whether these are the original artists or not.

1. “Marvelous Light” (by Charlie Hall) - This is the very first song I remember hearing Archie and the band perform and it’s a great one.

2. “Friend of God” (by Israel Houghton and Michael Gungor) - This particular song is one I like a lot, but by the time I got to this church, this song had apparently cycled out of the repertoire.

3. “The Stand” (by Hillsong United)

4. “Your Grace is Enough” (by Chris Tomlin)

5. “Sing to the King” (by Billy Foote) - The opening to this song doubles as the ringtone I’ve assigned to Archie. Seemed appropriate enough.

6. “When You Give” (by Mark Schultz)

7. “The Way That I Was Made” (by Chris Tomlin)

8. “Wonderful God” (by Ben Richter Band)

9. “Rescue” (by Jared Anderson)

10. “All I Need” (by Charlie Hall)

Some people probably will be shocked if they’re used to more “traditional” music. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if music with a faster pace can motivate people to get into the spirit in ways the slower tunes can’t, while still expressing the same message of a Loving God, I say let the music play.

When I work out at the gym, I often switch the old iPod to a playlist I have created with songs like these. The music is positive, the pace is upbeat, and it helps me find the motivation to keep pressing on when what I’d really like to do is go home and have a big helping of Doritos.

There are some people who are bothered — greatly bothered, in fact — by Snap Preview, the service that creates a pop-up preview window when you mouse over a hyperlink. I think that the feature’s good points far outweigh the annoyance factor, but then when I’m reading a page, I don’t have the mouse over the post, anyway because I find that distracting.

I’m here to please, though, so when Snap announced some modifications, I was quick to take them up on them. Now, you’ll have the option to turn the previews on or off, in a sidebar window right below my Blogger profile.

But wait, there’s more!

Now, mousing over a hyperlink in the text of a post will not create the pop-up window. You’ll notice a small text balloon icon just after a hyperlink: you must mouse over that icon to produce the pop-up preview. So that should help those who inadvertently mouse over a link who don’t want the preview to appear.

The pop-up preview window does still appear for the blogroll on the sidebar, which I particularly like, because it allows me to identify blogs that have been taken over by pornsters or spambots.

So enjoy the new and improved Snap Preview. (And be sure to notice the little “Patrick’s Place” logo in the windows…a nice touch, if I do say so myself.)

Now that Blogger Beta has become Blogger’s norm, I’m in the process of updating the templates of my blogs. Patrick’s Place was the first blog template I tackled, which, now that I think about it, might have been a dumb thing to do: common sense would suggest that I pick on a smaller blog first so that if the worst had happened, the loss would have been smaller.

Not that I think that society would somehow suffer greatly if this blog were to disappear…but you know what I mean.

But the conversion seemed to go well, and though the look here didn’t undergo any major change, there are new category tags that I like a lot, and some behind-the-scenes features that make it a lot easier to change content.

My photoblog, Patrick’s Portfolio, does have a new look. The old version looked like this:

With the updated template, based on a new design called Denim, plus some font changes and color changes — which are also much easier with the new version of Blogger — the new version looks like this:

I’ll be adding some new photos this week, so be sure to drop by when you get a chance.

Just as I was leaving work tonight, leaving for the last time, I got into the car and turned on the radio and what’s playing but Sarah McLahchlan’s “I Will Remember You.”

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

How did they know?

What happened to this week?

No, seriously. Where did it go. Yesterday, it was Monday! Now it’s already Friday and I’ll be going in to work for the last time!

Last night, we had some severe storms move through and I temporarily lost power at the apartment. I can’t recall the last time I lost power…one of the advantages of renting an apartment within a couple of blocks of a major hospital! The dogs were definitely glad to see me when I got home last night, though I suspect they took advantage of the dark to sleep. Dogs tend to get far less stressed out by the little things than we do.

One of the traditions on one’s last day — at least at the stations where I’ve worked — is to send a station-wide email saying goodbye and keep in touch. I’ve been mulling such a message and I’m sure I’ll come up with something decent. I will miss the folks I’ve worked with, and there are lots of things I’ll miss in Richmond.

I am looking forward to getting closer to home, though, and I already know that the new job will keep me in the presence of good, talented people.

In any case, since I’ve fallen drastically behind schedule when it comes to packing, my posting will be a bit sparse over the next week. There’ll still be a “Saturday Six” and “Sunday Seven” over at the Weekender. And next weekend’s shouldn’t be a problem, either.

Once I’m settled in the new place, I’ll be back with more regular posting, and I’ll update here and there when I can next week.

Wish me luck!

Minor. Nothing major.

I’ve made a couple of more adjustments to what began as Blogger’s “Harbour” template. While I like lighthouses, I wanted to make this blog look more TV-related since that’s what I do.

I’ve removed the subtle clouds from the top and the subtle rocky coastline from the bottom, making the entire background now a nice clean white. And I found the “blue fade” border on a free graphics site and have made it (and versions thereof) as the new official divider on the main column and sidebars.

I’m growing happier with the look now. I think I’ll stop fiddling with it now. (I’m hoping that if Blogger ever invites me to go “Beta,” I’ll be able to take this look with me one way or another.)

What do you think of the look?

I’ve always heard that life is difficult for child actors. I’ve also heard, and I’m sure you have, as well, that it can be very difficult to break out of the child actor mold: once people associate you as a child actor, they don’t really want to think of you as anything else.

Dustin Diamond, who played “Skreech” on the NBC Saturday morning show Saved By the Bell, seems to be doing everything within his power to make you forget that he played the somewhat-lovable nerd.

First, there was that business about him trying to raise money to save his home from foreclosure, which demonstrated either how little he made with the role or his lack of financial acumen.

Now, there’s news that ex-”Screech,” who created a minor spectacle when he claimed on Howard Stern’s radio show that he was more than adequately endowed, has a new role that may prove or disprove that claim. He reportedly appears in a 40-minute “sex tape.” One source suggests that the tape should come with a gun so that you can put yourself out of your own misery and blow your brains out after viewing the “performance,” because of the kinky acts involving bodily functions and one specific act that I’d never heard of, much less imagined, and am now sorry to have learned about.

If you really want to read more, and I mean only if you really, really, really want to read more, you can find more details here…but for the sake of humanity, don’t click the link: no matter how curious you think you are, you really don’t want to know!! One last word of advice if you’re still pondering whether to read the article: if you come across a colloquialism you’ve never heard of, do yourself a favor and be sure not to look it up! You’ve been more than adequately warned. (And the source that jokes about the gun is here; same warnings apply.)

Somehow, if the tape really exists as described, he might have been better off sticking with “Screech.”

According to Nielsen Media Research, the same folk who compile those pesky ratings, the average home has more televisions in it than people.

Far be it from me to disappoint. I have one television in the living room and a smaller one in the bedroom. And it’s me and two dogs. The dogs don’t really watch television, although if I have Animal Planet on and there are dogs barking, they’ll definitely watch long enough to see what that’s about. It makes me wonder whether dogs really do communicate specific things through their barks.

It also notes that the average person watches television for about four hours and thirty-five minutes a day. Hmm. Maybe if you don’t count the time it’s on as a “background,” I might fit into that discription. Otherwise, I shoot that average right out of the water.

Anyway, how many televisions do you have in your home? Do your TVs outnumber the people as well?

If you happened to switch over to TVLand during the dinner hour, you might have noticed that something was missing. Namely, programming.

The cable network, popular for its classic sitcoms and dramas, went dark between 6:00pm and 7:00pm tonight as part of “Family Day: A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Family.” For some time now, TVLand has been running public service announcements encouraging families to spend more time together, and suggesting that dinnertime is the perfect time.

It was a nice gesture of the network, but I’m not sure that with the gazillions of cable channels available and the ever-increasing thumb speed of most remote-control enthusiasts, many people would have stayed on the channel long enough to figure out what was really going on.

Still, they get high marks in my book just for the effort. I hope some families took their message to heart tonight.

Someone has taken the time to determine that when it comes to terrorism, you probably don’t have much to worry about.

According to the chart, which looks suspiciously like the terror alert legend, you have a much better chance of dying of a heart attack, falling, being in a car accident or being accidentally poisoned than dying at the hands of a terrorist.

I’m not sure how one is supposed to feel about this. The result, whether by terrorism, murder, natural causes or accident, is still the same. And I’m sure those who were sitting at their desks on 9/11 would have read something like this and not thought much about it, either.

Found this over at Carter’s “Noise in the Attic:”

You Are From Jupiter

You are exuberantly curious - and you love to explore newness.
Enthusiastic and optimistic, you get a kick out of stimulating intellectual discussions.
Foreign cultures and languages fascinate you. You love the outdoors, animals, and freedom.
Chances are you tend to exaggerate, so try to keep a lid on that.
If you do, you’ll continue to be known for your confidence, generosity, and sense of justice.

What Planet Are You From?

I love the outdoors? Hmm. Not in summertime, I don’t.

Found this at Shelly’s Cyber Chocolate:

$522,500
How Much Is Your Life Worth?

I’d like to believe that if someone handed me that much money, I could make it last the rest of my life. If there are any millionaires out there who’d like to test that theory, just drop me a line.

Of course I had to mention the fact that on Monday, The Price is Right will air the first show of its 35th year on CBS. ‘Price’ is television’s longest-running game show, and in December, host Bob Barker will commemorate his 50th anniversary on national television.

I’m told by friends who attended the taping that there are some big things to see this premiere week, so if you’re a regular viewer or even an occasional one, you’ll want to set your Tivo.

The show debuted, incidentally, on September 4, 1972, when I was just two years old. One of the most striking things about the show, all these years later, is how little has changed. Other than the prices of cars and fashions, it’s still the same basic formula that has worked so well for nearly three-and-a-half decades. Even some of the basic camera shots in today’s shows are nearly identical to the way they were in the premiere.

See for yourself, by watching this clip of the first four contestants being called from that very first show. You’ll note that on this into, Johnny Olson calls the contestants one by one, telling them to “Stand up,” then bellows for the four to “Come On Down,” a phrase he put into Americana.

No need for me to remind you to “check your local listings,” right? Surely you do know where to find the show!!

Enjoy!

Pat recently ran a meme about television shows you’ve seen.

The instructions are simple: change the color and/or boldface the shows you’ve watched at least three complete episodes of, and Bold and Italicize a show if you’re certain you’ve seen every episode of it.

You can add up to three shows to the list, but keep them in alphabetical order.

24
3rd Rock from the Sun
7th Heaven
Adam-12
Aeon Flux
A.L.F
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alias
Alice
Allo Allo
American Idol/Pop Idol/Canadian Idol/Australian Idol
America’s Next Top Model/Germany’s Next Top Model
Angel
Arrested Development
Babylon 5
Babylon 5: CrusadeBattlestar
Battlestar Galactica (the old one)
Battlestar Galactica (the new one)
Baywatch
Beauty & the Beast
Beavis & Butthead
The Ben Stiller Show
Beverly Hills 90210
Bewitched
Bonanza
Bones
Bosom Buddies
Boston Legal
Boy Meets World
Brady Bunch
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bug Juice
Chappelle’s Show
Charlie’s Angels
Charmed
Cheers
China Beach
Columbo
Commander in Chief
Coupling
Cowboy Bebop
Crossing Jordan
CSI
CSI: Miami
CSI: NY
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dallas
Dancing with the Stars
Danny Phantom
Dark Angel
Dark Skies
Davinci’s Inquest
Dawson’s Creek
Dead Like Me
Deadliest Catch
Deadwood
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Designing Women
Desperate Housewives
Dharma & Greg
Diff’rent Strokes
Doctor Who (new Who)
Doctor Who (series 1-26)
Dragnet
Due South
Dungeons and Dragons
Dynasty
Earth 2
Emergency!
Enterprise
Entourage
ER
Everwood
Everybody Loves Raymond
Facts of Life
Falcon Crest
Family Guy
Family Ties
Fantasy Island
Farscape
Fawlty Towers
Felicity
Firefly
Flamingo Road
Frasier
Friends
Full House
Futurama
Get Smart
Gilligan’s Island
Gilmore Girls
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Green Wing
Grey’s Anatomy
Growing Pains
Gunsmoke
Happy Days
Head of the Class
Hercules
Highlander
Hill Street Blues
Hogan’s Heroes
Home Improvement
Homicide: Life on the Street
House
I Dream of Jeannie
I Love Lucy
Invader Zim
Invasion
Iron Chef (Japan)
Iron Chef (USA)
Ironside
JAG
Jackass
Jeopardy
Joey
John Doe
Kath and Kim
Knight Rider
Knots Landing
La Femme Nikita
LA Law
Laugh-In
Laverne and Shirley
Law & Order
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: SVU
Little House on the Prairie
Lizzie McGuire
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lost
Lost in Space
Love, American Style
M*A*S*H
MacGyver
Magnum P.I.
Malcolm in the Middle
Married…With Children
Melrose Place
Miami Vice
Mission Impossible
Monk
Moonlighting
Mork & Mindy
Murphy Brown
My Family
My Favorite Martian
My Life as a Dog
My Mother the Car
My So-Called Life
My Three Sons
My Two Dads
Mysterious Cities of Gold
NCIS
Night Court
Nip/Tuck
Northern Exposure
Numbers
One Tree Hill
Oz
Parker Lewis Can’t Lose
Perfect Strangers
Perry Mason
Picket Fences
Pirates of Darkwater
Pokemon
Power Rangers
Prison Break
Profiler
Project Runway
Psyche
Quantum Leap
Queer As Folk (US)
Queer as Folk (British)
Queer Eye For The Straight Guy
ReGenesis
Remington Steele
Rescue Me
Road Rules
ROME
Roseanne
Roswell
Samurai Jack
Sanford & Son
Saved by the Bell
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Scooby-Doo Where Are You?
Scrubs
Seinfeld
Sex and the City
Six Feet Under
Slings and Arrows
Smallville
Small Wonder
So Weird
South Park
Spaced
Spongebob Squarepants
Sports Night
Square Pegs
St. Elsewhere
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Stargate Atlantis - New season
Stargate SG-1 -Newseason
Superman
Supernatural
Surface
Survivor
Taxi
Teen Titans
Teletubbies
That Girl
That 70’s Show
That’s So Raven
The 4400
The Addams Family
The Andy Griffith Show
The A-Team
The Avengers
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Bionic Woman
The Book of Daniel
The Colbert Report
The Cosby Show
The Daily Show
The Dead Zone
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Flintstones
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Golden Girls
The Jetsons
The L Word
The Love Boat
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mighty Boosh
The Monkees
The Munsters
The Mythbusters
The O.C.
The Office (UK)
The Office (US)
The Pretender
The Prisoner
The Real World
The Shield
The Simpsons
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Sopranos
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Twilight Zone
The Waltons
The West Wing
The Wonder Years
The X-Files
Third Watch
Thirtysomething
Three’s Company
Top Gear
Twin Peaks
Twitch City
Upstairs, Downstairs
Veronica Mars
Wings
What Not To Wear (US)
What Not To Wear (UK)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (US)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (UK)
Witchblade
Will & Grace
Wonderfalls
Wonder Woman
Xena: Warrior Princess
Young Hercules

If you wish to play along — and if you’re reading this, consider yourself so challenged, the easiest way to do so is to copy the list above to TypePad or NotePad so that the boldface or italicized formatting will not copy with it, then you can adjust as necessary on your own blog.