Tales From The Ipe!

When I grow up, I want to be a maverick. BTW, I had looked forward to the VP debate, but I got bored about 30 minutes into it. It was less debate, and more “Let me ignore the questions and facts, and just spout campaign points for 2 hours.”

Saturday Night Live was much more interesting, and in only 11 minutes. Thank you, Lorne Michaels.

I forgot to post this last week.  The following is a portion of an article from Irish Times, followed by the SNL sketch mocking the interview. Enjoy!

Katie Couric is an anchor with CBS News who did a lengthy interview with Palin that has since been parodied to devastating effect on Saturday Night Live by two comedians, Tina Fey (as Palin) Amy Poehler (as Couric).

In the real interview, Couric asks Palin whether it would be better to spend the $700 billion Wall Street bailout helping families cope with rising household bills, instead of giving to irresponsible bankers.

Palin answers: “That’s why I say I, like every American I’m speaking with, we’re ill about this position that we have been put in where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the – it’s got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track.”

“So healthcare reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And trade, we’ve got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today, we’ve got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.”

It’s been almost a week with my Shure earphones.  They’ve taken some getting used to.  I didn’t think it would be possible to have the need to research how to use headphones, but I’ve been reading this past week.  I’ve tried them in different positions, sleeves, and techniques, but I’ve been struggling to be comfortable.  I used the smallest rubber sleeves initially, but switched to the smallest foam ones.  I’ve read that the best way to use the earphones is to pull you earlobes forward and out to straighten the ear canal, then insert earphones.

My earphones have arrived

With some additional tweaking, I think I’m finally comfortable.  However, it has introduced another question: when is it worth it to listen to music?  Case in point: I’ll get all set up, start listening to music in the conference room, and then someone wants to talk to me.  I’ll scowl, take the earphones out, talk, then spend 2 mins getting set up again.  Then another question.

Still, I think I’m okay, as of this afternoon.  They do sound pretty good.  I think the best way to describe the benefit is how the music sounds clearer — it could even be described as “crisper.”  I did some work late Thursday night, and I found that I can listen to music on the absolute lowest audible volume setting in a quiet house.  Amazingly clear.  Check back with me in a couple of days.

Speaking of music, I read an article over the summer, How we learned to stop listening to music, by Steve Guttenberg.  It made me realize how I was not so much listening to music, as much as enjoying background noise with a beat. I may not be the only one out there.  So for a change of pace, I’m trying to actually listen to what is currently playing, not just have it playing in the background.  I’m enjoying it more.