"Those bike cops are sort of like velociraptors."

WHY IS OBAMA THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT THIS YEAR'S NORTH DAKOTA DEM-NPL CONVENTION?! I don't remember who the speaker was when I went in 2004, but it certainly wasn't anyone I liked that intensely. I think it's fabulous that Obama will be appearing, as I'm sure he's very busy and I doubt very much that North Dakota's three electoral votes could ever conceivably end up in his column. He's got a very populist approach to politics, and I think people in North Dakota can appreciate his sincerity if nothing else. If you are 18 or over and still living in ND, consider becoming a delegate. Even if you aren't interested in going to the rest of the convention, you can get a ticket for free and just attend the speech. It was really encouraging for me at that time in my life to find that there are literally thousands of people, even in "conservative" North Dakota (where most people are not, I think, as conservative as they would like to believe), who didn't think I was completely off my rocker for opposing preemptive war.

Yesterday's experiments didn't go. Like, at all. I'm regrouping.