Graham Glass, etc.

US Budget

I'm doing some homework for The Open Party, such as getting an understanding of the US budget. It's pretty easy getting a big-picture of the US federal budget, but I'm having a hard time getting a consolidated high-level view of per-state spending. This is important in order to understand the total amount spent on, say, Education. If anyone can help with links to per-state budget information, it would be much appreciated. I'll post all the useful links I find on the first edition of The Open Party web site.

The Power of Poker

According to the Washington Post, between 50m and 80m people in the US now regularly play Poker. That is over 20% of the US population! The most popular draws are the World Series of Poker TV show and the Party Poker Internet gambling site. Personally, I prefer Roulette.

Cycling: Lessons Learned

I've learnt a few things now that I've been cycling for a short while. First of all, it's a good idea to buy special cycling clothes; for example, cycling pants include padding that make the sport a lot more comfortable. Second, it's important to get a proper cycle pump that can measure the actual pressure in the tires. Originally, I was using a small portable pump that fits on the bike but did not have a gauge. By touch, I judged the tires to be fully inflated to their 90 PSI setting, but when I checked the pressure with my new pump, I found that they were in fact only inflated to 40 PSI. Third, a camelbak is way better than a regular water bottle for refreshment. It's a small back pack that includes a plastic bladder that you can fill with water and ice. When you get thirsty, you can drink the chilled water through a convenient plastic tube.

The Open Party

Most people that I talk to aren't particularly enthusiastic about either of the main political parties. And it's not just the leaders who don't inspire, it's the policies. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats represent a fiscally conservative, socially liberal value system, which is a popular combination these days. Since I've spent a lot of time debating policies with friends over the years, I thought it would be fun to record these ideas in a way that allows anyone to comment on them and evolve them over time. So pretty soon, I'm going to set up a web site that represents a new party with an alternative set of policies. It's just for fun, but it sure would be fun if it grew to be popular! The name of the party will be "The Open Party", to indicate that it's inclusive and inspired by the ideas behind open source software. I've already got theopenparty.org, theopenparty.com, and theopenparty.net, so the hard part is already taken care of!