Ryan Thomas Goodenough

It’s hard going to Albany when I’m leaving the top public administration school in the country. Albany does rank in the top 10, but still. However, we feel that being close to Albany, a state capital, and saving a load of money in the process is well worth the move. To make things even better, this article is in the Daily Orange made me especially happy:

To sum it up, the chair of the Public Administration program at Syracuse is changing jobs to become the Dean of Rockefeller College at SUNY Albany. What a coincidence. As Prof. Coplin, the head of the policy studies program at Syracuse, likes to tell us, “It’s fate.”

For her birthday, Emily was given a foster Elephant, Makena. Isn’t she cute?

Well, this weekend has been pretty busy. Emily’s birthday was on Friday. We went to the Mission, our favorite Mexican restaurant in the area. After that, we had to go to bed pretty early because we left the following morning at 6:30am for a string of appointments in Albany. We ended up going to 4 apartments and we really liked 2 (especially one). It’s getting a bit confusing and complicated, but I think we’re getting the hang of it. I promise, once we find an apartment, I will post pictures. Speaking of pictures, Emily’s parents and her sister joined us in Hamilton for a great birthday dinner. I’m still quite stuffed from it.

Emily and all of her presents.

My parents and I thought this was a pretty great cartoon:

Okay, I’m going to make a television recommendation today. I don’t think American Idol is the best show out there (or that it is even very good), but you should definitely watch tonight. Why? One word: Queen. Queen is quite possibly the greatest rock band ever and they will be there tonight. If any of the contestants butcher a Freddie Mercury song, I might cry. Anyway, you should definitely watch tonight, if for no other reason to see Brian May and the other remaining members of Queen.

Holy Crap! Yes, I swore, but it was worth it. Today Apple released Boot Camp which lets you choose between booting into OSX or Windows XP by holding the option key on startup. This only works on the newer Intel Macs and you can only work with Windows XP Home or Professional, but wow! This is great. No longer will I be worried that I will run into a problem in the professional world with a Windows-only program. Now I get the cool factor, great video programs, and all around wonderful operating system with Mac and the universal compatibility of Windows. Now, the big question: do I buy games for Windows or for Mac? Definitely Mac–less problems and more reliable.

So, for the first time ever, one of my blog posts ties in perfectly with another. Did anyone catch the last part of Delay’s resignation speech?

Thank you and may God bless you all. I know that he has blessed me.

Please stop referencing religion in every speech! If there is a separation between church and state, then let there be a separation. “God bless you all.” No–end of story. There doesn’t need to be any blessing. You just stepped down because you’re a criminal…you’re hardly blessed! Please, keep your religion to yourself. I mean, I hope no one goes around saying “Hi! I’m Christian and I’m a heterosexual.” You don’t need to constantly be identifying yourself. If Delay wants to seem all nice (especially after he said that “liberal democrats will ’steal’ his seat through a negative personal campaign), then just say “Thank you. Have a nice day.” I mean, we can’t say “Happy Holidays.” Why should “God Bless” be allowed!

Well, the good news is that Delay is resigning from the race to win his seat. But here’s the gem. According to CNN,

“I refuse to allow liberal Democrats an opportunity to steal this seat with a negative personal campaign,” DeLay said in a video announcement Tuesday, a few hours after news broke of his decision.

Tom, I’m pretty sure that you created your own negative personal campaign. If democrats harp on your close ties Abramoff, it is because you formed them in the first place. I know America is now this “country of morality,” but it seems we care more about sex with interns than crimes, lying, and decit. A “personal negative campaign” was created by his own actions.

That being said, I am impressed that Delay is stepping down. At least he knows when to quit. Now, how’s that censure of Bush coming along…?

Out of curiosity, does anyone know of any good apartments in Albany, NY? Particularly in the downtown Empire State Plaza area? Thanks in advance!

So, as some of you may know, I work over at the Department of Public Works in Syracuse on Fridays. It has been a pretty good experience thus far (kind of), but this sign really bothered me. “Do your best, be patient. Forget about yourself and let others “notice” and “remember”! Alright, that’s good advice. But is this necessary? “Remember: your Christian motive for doing ANYTHING is your Love for God–if credit is due, God will take note!” I’m not sure if this is 100% true, but I can guarantee that a) People have more than a “love for God” when they go into work as motive (money, security, etc.) and b) Not everyone is Christian.

I think the sentiment is fine. Doing something out of “love” for anyone is a great motive. But don’t assume that everyone is Christian. Why is it that people need to reference their religion with everything they say, especially if it could offend others? I thought the Christian ideal was to be open to everyone and respect their beliefs? I know a few good Christians and I think they may have a problem with this.

By the way, another gem is that “Don’t feel that you must defend yourself–GOD is your defender!” Nope, I defend myself. And I’m sure a lot of people out there would take issue with the fact that “GOD” is their defender, especially if they don’t believe in “God.”

Why is this even posted in a government office? I thought there was a separation between Church and State? I always knew that was a lie.