Money can't always buy votes

A Republican primary race for St. Johns County Commission seats in Florida may seem an unlikely place for me to find a great big ray of hope, but the defeat of two well-funded incumbents in this race is one of the most promising signs I have seen that citizens can be trusted to call the shots. Check these stories for full details:

http://staugustine.com/stories/090606/news_4063738.shtml
http://staugustine.com/stories/090906/news_4070779.shtml

Basically, well-funded incumbent Stern had raised $197,470 but narrowly lost to Sanchez, who only raised $7,720. Incumbent Maguire raised $140,000 yet was solidly defeated by Manuel, who had only raised $8,860. In others words, and contrary to received wisdom in cynical political circles, you cannot count on reelection just because you have a lot more money than your opponent (bear in mind the total voting age population of the county is less than 125,000).

What lost the election for these two commissioners was a rising tide of discontent about the way they had mishandled growth. For years they both tended to vote the way big developers wanted, and they both took big chunks of money from big developers. At the same time they seriously neglected the growing need for affordable homes and well paid jobs.

Then they showed hubris in the face of criticism. During the race, Commissioner Stern declared that "Over the past five to six years, the Board of County Commissioners has done a commendable job in negotiating with the developers to provide infrastructure improvements." Clearly this is not what most voters think. Those in her own party disagreed enough to express themselves in the voting booths.

I only hope that this trend can be generalized and in November people across the country will vote the way they feel about the following statement:

"Over the past five to six years, the Senate/House/President has done a commendable job of __________ to provide __________."

Stephen

Finally found some time to blog gyro cars

Okay,

It looks like I might have found some time to blog the gyro car happenings. I continue to get email from people with questions about gyro cars and the price of petrol keeps fuelling interest in ANY way to burn less fuel. Obviously, some of the appeal of gryoscopically stabilized vehicles is the sheer coolness of riding on two wheels instead of 4 (or 3). But one of the main incentives to develop this type of transportation is the energy-savings inherent in the design. Now that people are finally giving electric vehicles a chance, maybe gyro cars will start to appear on our roads (maybe it was my earlier experiences with electric vehicles that makes me hopeful--I drove an electric truck for several months back in 1971, delivering milk, running for 8 hours at up to 35 miles per hour, with no fumes, no ignition, and almost no noise).

Welcome to the Gyro Car Blog...visit the gyrocar.info site when you get a chance. There is no much there yet, but I hope to expand it soon.

Stephen

So I Got Distracted

Life does have a tendency to intervene sometimes. Here is a quick list of items about which I plan to post more detailed opinions in the near future:

1. Jeep Liberty Diesel - Good, but why aren't there more of then and why the heck does New York State ban them?
2. Region Code Hacked Toshiba DVD - Cheap, easy and works great.
3. Sony Wega Plasma TV - Expensive, complex, and for some viewing works not so great, but when it does work: Wow! When watching HBO's Deadwood in high def you worry that the main street mud might splash onto your living room rug.
   
4. Treo 650 - My constant companion and more rugged than you would think, with great battery life and a backlight so bright I use it as a flashlight when navigating my hotel room in the dark.
   
5. Marriott Hotels - Highly reliable and honest to boot.
6. Direcway Satelitte Internet - Works way better than dialup and may be the only alternative to POTS for some rural locations. But there are some kinks, like periodic sluggishness. May get better now it has made the transition to HughesNet.
   
7. Extended Range Wifi - Now practical, even on a budget--we now serve our neighbors with a 500 foot link across the marsh using one of these Backfire antennas.
   
8. Home Made Heart Monitor - A cheap way to let your doctor hear your heart (plans to follow).
   

So, with apologies for my tardiness, I will go off and start writing.

Stephen

Opinions Aplenty

I am starting this blog as a place to park my opinions on consumer goods and services, everything from Amtrak to Zeus knows what. I am intrigued by the possibility that, through the sharing of my opinions, I might help other people make good decisions or avoid bad ones.