Brian September 19th, 2005
Jerry Kilgore sent out an interesting mailer in Northern Virginia a few days ago. The conservative blogs were all excited as if it was going to change the entire course of the election.
For some reason, Kilgore got a big laugh out of the fact that Kaine took a few minutes to pose for a picture with some folks of the Dublin Lions Club, a great group in Southwest Virginia, and makers of the famous “Lion Dog.” I fail to see how spending some time in rural Virginia is a bad thing, but I guess Jerry has been in Richmond too long and enjoys making fun of Southwest Virginia when its politically advantageous.
However, what was most interesting about this mailer, in which Kilgore proclaimed to have a superior “transportation” plan is that we learned that Kilgore cannot even spell the word “transportation.”
How can we trust our state to a guy that cannot even spell the word - much less come up with a decent plan to address the traffic problems in Northern Virginia.
(Hat tip to Not Guy Incognito)
Brian September 2nd, 2005
Congratulations to Dr. Denise Stanley, one of my favorite professors at Emory & Henry College, on being honored with the United Methodist Exemplary Teaching Award.
Dr. Stanley recently received her Ph.D. from Regent University.
Oh yeah, and she is my cousin. 
Brian August 10th, 2005
Over at Blue in VA, a fairly new blog to the Commonwealth, the author is using up his or her summer break to help dispell the rumors and claims that McDonnell’s campaign are trying to make. I like this part regarding price gouging.
Price gouging is a problem faced by many Americans. In the past, other Attorney Generals around the country (including our own Jerry Kilgore) have used their offices to investigate and crack down on these companies that engage in it. It is very much the Attorney General’s job, but Bob McDonnell doesn’t think so. He thinks that involving the AG’s office is overreaching and bad for business. Which shows that, obviously, he’s looking out 100% for the company and 0% for the consumer who is being subject to unfare, overinflated prices.
The truth is, McDonnell is clearly not being honest with Virginians now, in the past, nor will he be in the future if he was somehow elected.
Brian July 6th, 2005
Looks like my county has finally realized they cannot borrow their way out of debt.
The board of supervisors voted unanimously on June 28 to invoke a new motor vehicle tax. Effective in the fall, residents must purchase a $10 decal annually for each vehicle they own. With an estimated 17,000 eligible vehicles in the county, the new tax is predicted to bring in about $170,000 a year.
In the recent past, the county’s answer to budget shortfalls has been to get loans.
Also, note this is the first entry in my new category of “Dickenson County.” Now I have to go back through a few hundred posts and change them if they fit in the new category.
Brian May 30th, 2005
In honor of Memorial Day, I wanted to do something a little different and post a tribute to my grandfather, Samuel Harding Patton.
He served in WWII and received the Broze Star, a Purple Heart, and an Expert Infantryman Badge. He ultimately achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant.
Papaw Harding passed away July 16, 1996. We all miss him very much and will always remember him.
Brian May 23rd, 2005
As a few people in Virginia have noticed, the Republican Governors Association recently launched a frivolous attack on Tim Kaine’s record.
However, without missing a beat, the Kaine Campaign has responded.
Brian April 19th, 2005
Although I am not Catholic, I am very intrigued by the process we have all witnessed over the past few days. When I was at Emory & Henry, I took a course called “Liberation Theology” and discussed some basic aspects of Catholicism, but not enough to understand the historical significance of the recent events.
Brian December 31st, 2004
You know what I dread most about the New Year? No, it’s not the resolutions that I will fail to keep or the thought of how another year has flown by. Actually what I dislike the most is having to get used to writing 2005, instead of 2004, on all the things that require dates (e.g., checks). I am sure after I do it a few thousand times and master the art of turning fours into fives – it will be time to start writing 2006.
Hope everyone has had a great year and best wishes in the coming year.
Brian December 25th, 2004
Another Christmas is in the books in about five minutes. I have ate enough to kill at least three people. Thank goodness its only once a year or I would need to lose a lot weight.
As for gifts, I got pretty much everything I ask for. I didn’t really need anything, just wanted some new gadgets to tinker with. Just more things to take my mind off studying for the bar like I should be.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas.
Brian December 24th, 2004
Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a safe Holiday.
Brian December 3rd, 2004
At first, I was hesitant to change from IE to Firefox. However, after a good sales job by Kilo and hitting a few snags in IE, I gave it a try. I have now been using it exclusively for around a month and love it. I had not really thought about it getting any better, but it did.
While browsing around the Wordpress Support Forum (my second home) I read about someone who was using the Web Developer’s Toolbar Extension. I thought "an extension, what in the heck is that?" So, after some quick research I found out that Firefox does not include many bonus features so the initial download can be smaller. Then users can download only the add-ons they need. This makes perfect sense to me. So, if your using Firefox, be sure to check out the list of Extensions also.
I ended up downloading three (Web Developer Toolbar, Sage, and FireFTP). All of them have already started saving me a lot of time.
Also, I have decided to throw out my MS Frontpage in favor of Nvu which is set up kind of like Firefox. It looks like it will be a lot better program too. It gets rid of all that junk in Frontpage I never needed anyway.
Brian September 21st, 2004
I officially feel famous, or at least as famous I will ever be. Check me out here on the Emory & Henry College ScienceFest website. They messed up the caption under the picture, but I am just happy to be included.
Here is the event booklet that contains abstracts from all the presenters for the 2000 event.
Participating in this event really helped me get over my fear of public speaking and develop skills that I still use.
See ya.
Brian July 25th, 2004
Another quiet weekend of studying. My exam is now just hours away. But, I think I am pretty much ready to get it over with. I think sometimes you can overstudy for an exam.
In other news, it is almost convention time. I am getting really excited. Hopefully we can win some independent voters over.
Well, back to studying and glancing at the race off and on.
Go Harvick
Go Kerry/Edwards
See ya.
Brian July 12th, 2004
Well, just finished playing a game of Rook and heard on the news that Ron Reagan will be speaking at the Democratic Convention this year. How cool is that? Even though his speech will be about stem cell research, it is still a victory for Democrats to have the issue of such a popular republican speaking at the convention. I am anxious to see the reaction. It should help Kerry take some independent voters.
Other than that, not much going on. Once again waiting to see if Tony Stewart will be fined by Nascar. He seems to be on the hot seat this year. But, I am always glad to see Kasey Kahne go out early. Tony has a ton of talent, but not much patience. I guess he is kind of like Kevin Harvick.
Later.
Brian July 10th, 2004
Another weekend is half over, and I still have not done anything productive. I guess I need to be doing some studying, but instead, Jayne and I just finished watching “Eurotrip” with Kristin. That movie kicks [butt]. I thought it would just be stupid, but it was actually funny. It makes me really want to go to Europe.
Nothing much in the news today. Harvick fell out of the Busch race early with engine issues. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a strong run.
Later.
Brian June 25th, 2004
Wow…I have now officially updated my blog for two days straight. This may not seem like much to most, but for me to have extra time keep something up to date is huge for me. But, anyway, today is just an average rainy day in Ohio. I am stuck inside anway, fulfilling my hours for Bankruptcy Clinic. So, I guess I am not missing much. Just sitting around bored with nothing to do, or as Jason would say, “working on the Penske file.” Jason is my buddy from Emory & Henry. He goes to law school too, in Richmond, Virginia. He is doing an internship this summer too, and when they have nothing to do, around the office, they all say they are working on the Penske file. Not a bad way to say your doing nothing while making it sound like your working on something.
I guess I will try and edit the layout on my blog today. So far, I have not had much luck, but I guess I will get it figured out sometime. In the meantime, just look over the mess.
Well, I guess I had better get back to work, someone is needing help with our main client - Mr. Penske.
Later.
Brian June 24th, 2004
To all who read this: Greetings!
I am new to this whole blog thing, but look forward to building my own.
I guess I should start off with a little about myself. I am originally from Virginia, but am currently attending law school in Ohio. However, I am almost done with school and looking forward to joining the real world (not the show on MTV). Actually, I like that show, its really funny. I spend most of time that is available for television watching Nascar races on the weekends. I am a huge Kevin Harvick fan, but like several other drivers. Also, I am looking forward to the upcoming elections in November. It will be nice to have a truely elected president, instead of the current one that was selected by the Supreme Court. Although, I usually agree with the Supreme Court on most issues, their selection of the President leaves room for improvement.
Well, I guess I should get back to work and quit wasting time doing anything but work. So long for now.
