We have a lot of posts up already today. It's shaping up to be a big news day, but I'll be at work the rest of the day. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

I have a confession to make - outside of a few races - Boxer, Feingold, Grijalva, Joe Garcia, Blumenthal, Eric Schneiderman- I really am not very engaged in this election. Part of it is I think the cake is baked. Part of it is disgust with the political ineptitude of the Democratic Party. But part of it is I'm not sure this election matters all that much, other than the progrssives who are threatened. Do I really care if Heath Shuler, Travis Childers, Jim Marshall, Bobby Bright or Stephanie Herseth, et al., win? Why? I suppose they are better than their opponents, but what happens if they lose? IS any policy going to change because of it? I will vote straight Dem on my ballot. But I am not sure that it matter all that much. 2012 will be very important of course. But this election? I am not so sure.

YMMV. In the meantime, my thoughts turn to Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa where my Gators face the Crimson Tide in the biggest game of the college football season so far. To be honest, I'm thinking a lot more about that than the election. Sorry, President Obama.

Open Thread.

Update: So far it's been a great day. I'm thinking of all the things I have to be grateful for, like a career I love, great cases where I get to go to court and make a difference in someone's life, an incredible kid, good health and a blog that over the past eight years has produced a steady stream of caring and passionate readers. No more gripes from me. Have a great day!

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Today is my birthday. I'm glad I'll be in court all day because I don't want to even think about it. But the TL Kid wants to take me to dinner, and it's unfair to be negative with your child, so I intend to have a good time. He's the designated driver, so at least I can have a drink or two.

So between court and dinner, I won't be blogging today. On the bright side, at least I won't be hiding in bed. [More...]

Sunday!

Open Thread.

Last week I was 9-6. I now stand 22-18-1 (.550) on the year. Here are this week's picks:

GA Tech (-8) over NCState; Miami(OH)(+20) over Missouri; Air Force (-14) over Wyoming; USC (-22) over Washington State; Alabama (-7.5) over Arkansas; Stanford(-5) over Notre Dame; Nevada (-4) over BYU; Miss State (-1) over Georgia; Ole Miss (-2) over Fresno St.; Auburn (-2) over S. Carolina; Boise State (-18) over Oregon State; LSU (-10) over West Virginia; and Cal (+7) over Arizona.

Open Thread.

It's the peak weekend here for seeing the changing of the Aspen. Hope your weekend is getting off to a good start.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I'm on the road and swamped. I will be posting my college picks tomorrow morning. Other than that, not sure when I'll be posting. J seems pretty swamped too with some computer problems to boot.

Open Thread.

I'm having major Windows 7 network connectivity issues with my new laptop. I'm sick of unplugging and replugging the modem and router, only to have it work for a few days and then go out again. (Right now my desktop and windows vista laptop is working, the windows 7 is not. Yesterday, the windows 7 worked and the Vista went out. The desktop, which not wireless, is fine.) Good thing there's a lot of TV tonight, from the premiere of Gray's Anatomy to The Apprentice, Project Runway and even a new episode of Jersey Shore.

There's also the premiere of Outsourced. I have no idea if it will be as good as the movie, which I not only liked, but credit with giving me more patience and a sense of humor when I am connected to tech support or customer service reps in India.

The Defenders last night wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Jim Belushi and the young female associate were good. The other guy, Jerry O'Connell, is way too bland and goofy and his ADDHD mannerisms are not as cute as he thinks they are. Also, the sexcapades between him and the female D.A. are just cheesy.

On the other hand, Survivor Nicaragua is better than expected, with its old vs. young theme. The old people all seem to have a screw or two loose, a welcome change from the one-dimensional, over-jocked types they usually cast in people over 40. [More...]

It's another busy work day. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

For TV, there's Survivor, America's Next Top Model and some new show called The Defenders, that I'll watch out of curiosity, even though I think it will be an unrealistic, exaggerated portrait of criminal defense lawyers. Hope I'm wrong.

The TL kid and I just got new laptops. I ordered him a Dell over Labor Day, which took two weeks to build and arrive, and when it did arrive, it had black screen death. After more than two hours on the phone with a very pleasant tech person in India, and later, his supervisor, it still shut down immediately after starting. Most likely, it had conflicting components, and since they stopped offering the 1G video card in that model last week, I'd bet that was the problem. But whatever the cause, since a replacement would have come with an integrated video card when I paid for a 1G, I went back to Sony, who I've always had good results with. They are having a sale too, and after hours of internet shopping, where everyone offers slightly different features, the best deal turned out to be at the local Sony Style store. And I liked the one I was getting for him so much, I ended up buying one for me as well.

I'm not bashing Dell, I love their desktops, and most likely will buy my next one from them, but it was a disappointment. At least the return process was simple, and as I said, their tech people tried really hard to figure out what was wrong and were very pleasant.

So while I set up my new laptop tonight, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

BTD is on the road, and I'm busy at work. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Is Jesse Jackson, Jr. in trouble? A new report on the Blagojevich senate seat for play scandal may implicate him in a plan involving $6 million. The source: Oak Brook businessman Raghuveer Nayaka.

Maybe he shouldn't have been so cocky about it last week.

In a radio interview about the mayor's race last week, Jackson challenged federal prosecutors to "bring it on" if they have evidence he was a conspirator in Blagojevich's corruption case.

In TV news, who will be the first to go home on DWTS tonight?I'll guess David Hasselback, Florence Henderson, or Margaret Cho. A new season of Biggest Loser starts, and a new cop show, DETROIT 1-8-7, starring Michael Imperioli from the Sopranos. Do we need more cop shows? I don't think so.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.