Strangely, two people failed to list two choices. So picture #8 --created by me-- won the contest. It also means there was no second place (er, a gazillion-way tie). I know you're all terribly disappointed, but another contest is coming soon and I'll offer the same prizes...]]> 2010-03-01T22:54:00-04:00 Jay Kastner http://www.kastnerfamily.net/jaysblog.nsf/archive/20100131-1235%20PM?OpenDocument 1. You can vote for two pics.
2. You can vote here OR on Facebook, but not both.
3. If you vote here, please list your full name.
4. You can vote for your own entry(ies).
5. Voting is open for one week, and I will send a one day reminder on February 6 2010.
6. The person who created the pic with the most votes will get a $30 gift certificate, while second place will get a $20 gift certificate.
7. Yes, I can win my own contest, but I will not vote.
8. Please be specific with your vote...include the pic number.

Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #1
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #2
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #3
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #4
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #5
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #6
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #7
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #8
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #9
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #10
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #11
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #12
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #13
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #14
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #15
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #16
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #17
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #18
Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #19
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Sarah Palin & Jay: Entry #21]]> 2010-01-31T12:35:00-04:00 Jay Kastner http://www.kastnerfamily.net/jaysblog.nsf/archive/20091226-0332%20AM?OpenDocument Just so it’s really, really clear: I am not a Palin fan. But in situations like this, why not spend the time doing something interesting?

I arrived that morning at 8:05 AM. A lot of people were already there --some camping out overnight. They loves them some Sarah. The first thing that struck me was the consistent attire. Was I the only one not wearing 10 year old K-mart jeans, plus crappy sneakers and a bad hair-cut? Maybe there was a general requirement to pull ‘them there’ pants ‘up all high like’? Because an awful lot of people looked like what I’m calling "average guy". This alone was a little disturbing.

A few other random thoughts on the people in line: nice enough to me, but somewhat angry at the world and out of touch. Paranoid (see: Obama is ruining America). Delusional (see: Palin is gonna save America). Really religious (Christian). Older (50 plus). White (see: no African-Americans, and very few Hispanics, considering this took place in Florida). Big Huckabee, Romney, Beck and Coulter fans (of course I happily mentioned that Ms. Coulter once promised to campaign for Hillary Clinton if she and McCain won their respective nominations).

I spent most of my time in line answering comments and questions with really ambiguous answers. It was actually sort of fun. For example, when I was faced with a comment about how "we" needed to take a more activist-type approach to get Obama out of the White House, I answered with "I believe everyone needs to get out and vote".

Another interesting aspect was the two chicks in line behind me. Sisters. They were actually pretty fun. In fact, I got along so well with the younger one that an older couple in front of us pulled me aside to say I should ask her out. Later that evening, when she informed me that they were Mormons, I again carefully responded that "I was raised Catholic". This, it turns out, was the equivalent of telling her I was Muslim. Seriously. In about five minutes’ time, they both went from being by my side all day (and part of a roughly ten person group that had formed), to jumping ahead and leaving us behind. Fine by me...crazy Mormons.

I was in line from 8:05 AM to roughly 12:30 PM (about 4.5 hours). And again from roughly 6:15 PM to 10:15 PM (4 hours). So a total of 8.5 hours. The first round was to get a wristband. There were three groups that got them, and I was toward the end of the yellow wristbands --meaning I might get in but no guarantee. The second round was an initially chaotic mess to queue for the actual signing. At about 9:30 PM there was an announcement that Palin would meet everyone with a wristband.

What else? I saw a crazed woman with a loud, screechy voice running around with a sign the whole time. It said "www dot mycongressmanisnuts dot com" (no linky thank you very much). This recently became national news. But I want to thank her, as I’ve decided to make a donation to Representative Grayson.

Then there’s Mrs. Palin. I have to say she was very nice and clearly generous with her time. She stayed late and tried to make each meeting feel personal. I won’t ever vote for her, but I also didn’t feel like I wanted to be mean or rude either. As you can see from the photos below, there was a lot of love between us. Both of her parents were also there to greet us afterwards, and they looked exhausted.

Three additional notes:
1. Sarah did not accept the hug passed along from Yvette, simply saying "I am so over that girl". :)
2. I am holding a contest to see who can come up with the best caption for Photo 4. The rules are: you’ve got one week from the time of this posting. Anything goes, including altering the photo. And I decide who wins, based on whatever criteria I feel like. The winner gets a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com (or equiv).
3. I will also say I miss having a "partner in crime" for these kinds of events. Had that in Indy, Bloomington, Cincy...but not here in Orlando. There’s no way I’ll move back to the Midwest, but I do miss my peeps there.

The photos:
My books and autograph, ready for Ebay
Sarah's bus photo 1
Sarah's bus photo 2
Sarah's bus photo 3
Sarah and Jay love photo 1
Sarah and Jay love photo 2
Sarah and Jay love photo 3
Sarah and Jay love photo 4

More general info:
Funny interviews from the Columbus, OH signing
"Sarah Palin Visits Central Fla. On Book Tour"
"Hundreds Lining Up For Sarah Palin Book Signing In Orlando"
"Sarah Palin in Central Florida"]]> 2009-12-26T03:32:00-04:00 Jay Kastner http://www.kastnerfamily.net/jaysblog.nsf/archive/20091106-0132%20PM?OpenDocument http://www.glennbeckcrying.com/]]> 2009-11-06T13:32:00-04:00 Jay Kastner http://www.kastnerfamily.net/jaysblog.nsf/archive/20091031-1143%20PM?OpenDocument ”Fashion Advice For Women Part I”, at least according to The Google...

• Saved the world from Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore.
• Was the first and only president in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.
• Had an inaugural that was attended by 40,000 people and had his limo egged (Note: Obama's inaugural was attended by roughly 1,800,000).
• Lost a high tech spy plane to China, and had it returned in pieces (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1425318.stm).
• Established a 'faith based' give-away for religious groups to push abstinence (which, statistically, did not work).
• Held some town hall meetings to push a $1.35 trillion tax cut --one of the largest cuts in U.S. history (note: the U.S. national debt at the time was approaching $6 trillion, and this cut was opposed by his Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill).
• Stood by while national unemployment rose by approximately 2 percent (see also: median household income drop, poverty rate increase, lower GDP, etc).
• Pushed the No Child Left Behind Act while significantly under-funding it.
• Opposed the Kyoto Protocol --signed and ratified by 184 other nations.
• Ignored presidential briefings such as 'Bin Laden determined to strike in US' (August 6, 2001).
• Read 'The Pet Goat' to Booker elementary school students (September 11, 2001).
• Signed executive order authorizing the 'President's Surveillance Program', then co-masterminded the 'USA Patriot Act' which allowed Hoover- and Nixon-esque spying on U.S. citizens (amongst other things).
• Announced a global War of Terrorism --starting with Afghanistan-- but didn't send enough troops, supplies, etc. Then allowed Bin Laden to escape to Pakistan (well, it's really just a work in progress, right?).
• Held A LOT of closed-door energy policy meetings, attended only by energy industry executives (AKA 'my friends from Texas').
• Took a month-long vacation in August, spending most of it clearing brush at his ranch.

Update 2009-11-25: it looks like a lot of people have been sending links to these pics, and I know of at least one site that embedded the original pic in their site (eating up my bandwidth). So I swapped it out with the "response" version. If you really want to see the original, it's now here.]]> 2009-10-24T19:28:00-04:00 Jay Kastner http://www.kastnerfamily.net/jaysblog.nsf/archive/20090629-1205%20AM?OpenDocument Lookin' For A Kiss video
Personality Crisis video
Trash video
Photo 1
Photo 2

When a German wants to travel to the U.S., they also need a passport and ticket. Next, they have to fill out a travel authorization form. Check out the questions below. Is this 2009 or 1945? Once (if) travel is approved, they get to spend upwards of two hours going through security. This includes a series of questions and finger-printing --ya know, sort of like prison.

This, at a time when the U.S. could really use all the visitors it can get. Buying stuff...using services...that give Americans jobs.

Don't believe me? Check this out:
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.html]]> 2009-02-12T22:23:00-04:00 Jay Kastner http://www.kastnerfamily.net/jaysblog.nsf/archive/20090211-0513%20PM?OpenDocument 2. Melatonin - it works. Available over-the-counter here. Not so for my German friends.

3. Noise-canceling headphones. And you don't have to spend a lot of money. My 50 USD Sony MDRNC7 works almost as well as the 100 USD ones I borrowed.

4. Don't let hotel housekeeping clean your room. You don't need clean towels every day (also good for the environment) and it actually takes more time and effort to put everything back where you want it. Plus you don't have to hide valuables.

5. Buy shampoo, conditioner, soap and kleenex locally. It's not that expensive, reduces packing time and luggage weight and still allows you to use most of your favorite brands.

6. Buy a liter of water before checking in at the hotel. For some reason, I don't drink as much when traveling and end up dehydrated.

7. Bring a sweater or pull-over, even if your departure and destination locations are warm. Some planes are cold, some are hot, but this gives you options.

8. Mint gum. For those times when you can't brush your teeth. Plus everyone wants a piece.

9. Take your shoes off on flights. But try to bring an extra pair of socks.

10. Eat big breakfasts and dinners, but light lunches. Work longer and sleep easier.

So what did I miss?]]> 2009-02-11T17:13:00-04:00 Jay Kastner http://www.kastnerfamily.net/jaysblog.nsf/archive/20090210-1106%20PM?OpenDocument

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Hug-Me-Pillow/1676854/product.html?cid=54556]]> 2009-02-08T11:50:00-04:00 Jay Kastner http://www.kastnerfamily.net/jaysblog.nsf/archive/20090123-0200%20PM?OpenDocument

Gator 1
Gator 2
Gator 3
Gator 4
Snake 1
Snake 2
Stop 1
Stop 2
Stop 3
This sign can be read two ways...]]> 2009-01-04T00:45:00-04:00 Jay Kastner http://www.kastnerfamily.net/jaysblog.nsf/archive/20090104-1200%20AM?OpenDocument ]]> 2009-01-04T00:00:00-04:00 Jay Kastner http://www.kastnerfamily.net/jaysblog.nsf/archive/20090102-0316%20PM?OpenDocument Who are those white guys?]]> 2009-01-02T15:16:00-04:00 Jay Kastner http://www.kastnerfamily.net/jaysblog.nsf/archive/20090102-0305%20PM?OpenDocument Chokoloskee, Florida (near Naples). The day after Christmas.

Pic 1
Pic 2]]> 2009-01-02T15:05:00-04:00