Our President let his inner Geek Flag fly yesterday as Olympic and Paralympic representatives showed up at the White House to draw attention to Chicago's bid for the 2016 games.  In order for the President to spar with a fencer, he was given a Light Saber toy and did what all Star Wars fans do as soon as they're handed one... he started buzzing like a light saber.

There have been plenty of photos and videos of the event but my favorite is one featuring a poor soul who "picked" the wrong time to go excavating.  If it is a family photo, that's one thing but when you are attending a media session at the White House, the photo of you going fishing in Lake Boogerville will now be a historic document.

Poor guy.

This was posted on Digg.

After a very big news day yesterday, it is quite comforting that there were no big media deaths or events today.  I believe everyone is gearing up for Teabag Day tomorrow.  What is Teabag Day?  Apparently there are some people who are suddenly upset with paying taxes so they are sending teabags to their elected leaders to let them know they are now upset. 

Why they didn't send teabags over the past eight years?  I don't have that answer.  Instead I have this picture of a teabag.

It appears that Joe The Plumber has a book out and is in the midst of a book signing tour.  Recently he had a book signing at a Borders in Washington, DC which was scheduled to last three hours.  After 55 minutes, it ended so he could count the five copies of his book that were purchased.

The guy is a true media giant now.  He is a legend in his own mind.  I'm hoping that his 15 minutes of fame are just about over.  He speaks for no one but himself and is an opportunist.  Sure he was thrust into the media spotlight but he is running with it.  He's 2008-2009's Pet Rock.

Here's more from AlterNet.org.

www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/129297/

I am seeing coverage of the crowds and goings on in Washington, DC.  The numbers and excitement is like I have never seen before.  Now granted, I only recall the inaugurations of Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton and Bush 2, but the feeling coming across has never been like this. 

One major difference is the number of Barack Obama commemorative plates available for purchase.  My favorite is the Stephen Colbert Zenith of Change commemorative plate.

I just heard an interesting news tidbit.  Apparently, they pick one member of the government and whisk them off to a top secret military hiding place during the inauguration.  This is done in the case of "a catastrophic event."  Should something happen and the entire capital area wiped out, there will still be a member of the administration to pick up the pieces.  And who is the lucky individual?  Defense Secretary Robert Gates.  God Speed Sir.

So speaking of the inauguration, how did the President-Elect spend his last day as "not the President"?  He spent it in service, setting the example that he wants American citizens to follow during his administration.  A beautiful way to honor the memory of Dr. King.  Walking the walk and talking the talk.  How novel is that?

And my new favorite "O'Bama" photo?

The story behind this photo goes back to 2003 at Chicago's St. Patrick's Day Parade.  He met the World Famous Lawn Rangers, a 28-year-old Central Illinois-based precision lawn mower drill team.  They will be appearing the inaugural parade tomorrow.  The Chicago Tribune has the whole story.

The inauguration festivities kicked off today with a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  The theme was about change and past inagurals.  It incorporated music that played a part in President Obama's campaign and America culture.  HBO aired it for free on cable and satellite systems.  NPR streamed the audio. 

The concert was full of many great performances by many different genres; rock, pop, hip-hop, country.  It kicked off with Bruce Springsteen performing The Rising with a choir.  It was great as most of the rest of the show.  Actors bridged the performances with tales of past inagurations and the words of former presidents and important figures in the US Civil Rights movement.

The rest of the performers played songs that made it a very moving afternoon.

• Bruce - The Rising
• Mary J. Blige - Lean On Me
• Bon Jovi and Bettye LaVette - A Change Is Gonna Come
• James Taylor, John Legend and Jennifer Nettles - Shower the People
• John Mellencamp - Pink Houses
• Josh Groban and Heather Headley - My Country, 'tis of Thee
• Will.i.am, Herbie Hancock and Sheryl Crow - One Love
• U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club and Renee Fleming - You'll Never Walk Alone
• Garth Brooks - American Pie / Shout
• Usher, Shakira and Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground
• U2 - Pride (In The Name of Love) / City of Blinding Lights
• Bruce and Pete Seeger - This Land is Your Land
• Beyonce - America the Beautiful

 In addition to the music, the President and Vice-President Elect addressed the crowd.  Joe Biden talked as though he was in a huge crowd and forgot he had a microphone.  As he returned to his seat, it appeared that his wife and the President Elect gave him some ribbing.

As I said earlier, it was a very emotional program and a fitting kick off to a great week in this country's history.

You know it's been cold when 18 degrees feels balmy.  After 50+ hours of sub-zero temperatures, we finally emerged into positive territory last night around Midnight.  Whew to that.

I decided that Windows 7 was not going to cut it as an every day OS, just yet.  It is very promising and I like it but there are programs that aren't compatible, yet, so I decided to go back to Vista.  So I've been spending the past three days reinstalling all my apps.  The weird thing is SP1 is not an automatic download through Windows Update.  It doesn't even come up as an option.  I downloaded it manually and it is loading now.

Then there is the matter of the NFL playoffs.  I like the Steelers and the Cardinals.  Most people are picking the Eagles but it's difficult to beat a team twice in the same seaon.

Of course the big news the inauguration.  It all starts today with the President-Elect arriving via train.  There will be parties and a\the We Are One concert with the U2s and Broooooce.  It will be broadcast on HBO.  Then the actual inaguration on Tuesday.  What an incredibily historic moment.

This is the official Presidential Portrait.  The first to be taken with a digital camera.  How's that for progress?

Welcome to office Mr. President.

There sure is a rat.  He's right behind the sign.

Tom and I ran into someone over the summer at the Kendall County Fair. He was taller than us. And Arnold was right, he was very skinny.