Exciting news:

Posted on September 29, 2003 by

The ROTK trailer it out!
3 bats down, 2 to go! (Meanwhile, we broke the world record for largest conference call.)
New TI-82 came in the mail! It works, but the keys just don’t feel the same…
Found this cool GenDean video.
And, as a little challenge: a family friend asked me for help on these math problems. Of course, I was of no use. (Excuse: I could only think about them for three mins before I had to get back to work.)
1) How many solutions are there to ax=b in mod m?
2) In which mods does -1 have a square root?
Thoughts?

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Happy New Year!

Posted on September 28, 2003 by

Shana Tova or Happy New Year in your preferred language! It’s now the year 5764 in the Hebrew calendar–which would be a small straight in Yahtzee game with higher-valued dice. To celebrate the holidy of Rosh Hashanah I went to dinner at Rachel’s (coworker) house in Concord, followed by services. The synagogue was a mix between conservatism and reform, since it’s the “only game in town.” Saturday morning, I walked to conservative services three blocks from “my” house in Manchester. Since I was raised as a conservative Jew, I felt much more comfortable there.
Then, I picked up my brother at the bus stop and we drove to the Strauss family’s center of operations: Bear Lake, Waterford, ME. There was a great family Rosh Hashanah dinner, plus five cousins to play with. And, I got all three households present to donate to the Dean campaign! (Shameless plug: feed the bat. )
On the vein of renewal, my TI-82 finally died after 10 years of great service. I spent one day trying to revive it, one day mourning, and then I bought another one for 30 bucks on EBay. I would have upgraded to the TI-83 if I had found a similar bargain. Here’s a photo of the closed-casket ceremony:


In Memoriam

Posted in General | 4 Comments

TV Politics

Posted on September 25, 2003 by

Premiere of The West Wing last night. The staff here drove to super-intern’s Julie’s house to watch. But a coworker, who will remain unnamed, got lost so I missed the first 17 minutes!!! Thus, I’m unsure of what all these dramamine comments of TWOP refer to.
I must admit that even without Sorkin, the show was good. Weird lighting and set–was that a shout out to Star Wars with the Death Star window? (Prob not, but a boy can dream.)
Then, the 10-way democratic debate. I heard Chris Matthews said Dean won. Either way, this was definitely the debate highlight (on Medicare):
GEPHARDT: “This is not the view of Democrats, in my view.
This program has been under attack from the Republicans since the beginning. And we need a candidate against George Bush that can take the fight to him on it, not someone who agreed with the Gingrich Republicans.
HOST: Governor Dean?
DEAN: That is flat-out false, and I’m ashamed that you would compare me with Newt Gingrich. Nobody up here deserves to be compared to Newt Gingrich.
(APPLAUSE)
First of all, I did say that Medicare was a dreadful program because it’s administered dreadfully.
I’ve done more for health insurance, Dick Gephardt, frankly, than you ever have, because I’ve delivered it to a lot of seniors and a lot of young people. And I’ll stake my record on health insurance against anybody up here.
Of course, we’re not going to get rid of Medicare, and you are wrong to insinuate so, but we’re going to run it properly because we’re going to have somebody that actually is taking care of patients running Medicare and Medicaid in the FDA so we can get the things that we need to get to patients.
To insinuate that I would get rid of Medicare is wrong, it’s not helpful, and we need to remember that the enemy here is George Bush, not each other.”
(APPLAUSE)

Posted in Dean News | 2 Comments

Not Just Another Warm Body

Posted on September 24, 2003 by

New intern, Kate, dropped her musical career to join the Dean campaign. Listened to her CD, Not Just Another Warm Body; my favorite track is “Now That You’re Here” (mp3, 3.28MB). Other songs are available from mp3.com.
Proving Beantown is Dean-town, we had a *huge* rally in Boston yesterday. (Watch it here.) I stayed in NH to hold down the fort with the rest of Manch field–the quiet allowed me to get plenty done.
Then, we protested Cheney’s visit.In a show of cooperations, the campaigns put down their own signs and held up pro-Dem, anti-GOP signs. Pro-choice and health care signs were in abundance; I held up “I want my country back;” a 7-yr-old little girl held up “Dick Cheney pees in his pants” :)
And don’t forget to feed the bat!

Posted in Informational | 3 Comments

The Bat is Back

Posted on September 22, 2003 by

I had a great weekend. After GOTV, and then the Gov being in town for three days, everyone needed some time off. I slept in both days, saw a movie, did some jogging, played soccer and touch football, read most of “In the beginning…,” partied, and found someone to leave the party with me so we could play board games! yay!
But now it’s time to get serious because:
1) RALLY IN BOSTON! I know I have some Boston readers; you should go listen to the Gov speak. It’s a great way to learn about the race and the real state of the nation.
2) The bat is back.
3) They’re giving out Bat Pens!
So, rally, or join, or contribute; because we want our country back!

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“Data”

Posted on September 19, 2003 by

I think I’ve subconciously avoided posting this on the blog, but I have a nickname at the office: “Data.” And no, not like the Star Trek character. Goodness knows the last thing I need is our State Director walking up to me and saying “Data, what time is it?” and me dutifully having to repond “2:46 and 17 seconds, 41 … .” It pretty much came out of softball: I came to bat and they chanted “Database”; it then got shortened to just “Data.”
It’s pretty ubiquitous around here. To the point where it takes a while for new staffers/interns to discover my actual name. Though it does make things easier when we have meetings with greenies where everyone has to state their name and what they do: I can just say “Data, and the same.”

Posted in Inside the Campaign | 2 Comments

Dress rehearsal #1

Posted on September 17, 2003 by

There was a municpal city election yesterday, and we did a dry run of our GOTV operation, which unfortunately included getting to the office at 5am. Unfortunately, we didn’t endorse a candidate (non-partisan primary election), so there wasn’t the buzz that normally accompanies election day.
Today, the Gov was in town; he stopped by the office and shook everyone’s hands. He was the only candidate to show up at the NARAL event this evening. Both a Dean staffer and Kerry staffer were handing out stickers to event attendees as they trickled in. The score when I left: Dean stickers 8 – Kerry 0.
Want to help from home? Join what will be the world’s largest conference call!.

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“Boys lets go through…”

Posted on September 15, 2003 by

Went to the Steve Grossman event on Sunday, where Mr Grossman talked to a bunch of fellow Jews about Dean’s position on Israel. Steve Grossman is the former President of AIPAC, DNC Director, and candidate for MA Governor.
Before the event, Grossman and I discussed our common bond: Camp Wigwam. Just as the first guests were arriving, we were singing the Camp song “Red and Grey,” a snippet:
When you hear that good old war cry
Ringing out across the field,
Every heart gives a thrill,
For you know we love you still.
Old Red and–Boys let’s go through……
Networking: I’m becoming proficient in both kinds ;)

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Haiku

Posted on September 13, 2003 by

Since this blog entry about a Dean Haiku contest, the staff here has been abusing our staff email list by sending out their favorite Haiku. Here was my entry:
Dean’s voice on the phone
Answering machines that know
You have the power
Check out the Dean answering machine messages, available on the lower-right hand corner of this page.
Also, following up on the Space Needle flash mob, let’s go to the video “tape”.

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Knock Knock

Posted on September 13, 2003 by

New Mom: “It’s 8:20, do you need to get up?”
Me: “Uh…Is it Saturday?”
New Mom: “Yes.”
Me: “Yeah, I’m sleeping in. Thanks.” zzzzzzzz….
So, still a few kinks to work out in this new system ;)

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