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I’ve been in a bit of a gaming rut recently. I’m staying busy with work and studying for my DBA certification. I’m also waiting for Age of Conan to come out next month. A couple of weeks ago I got hooked on Marvel Ultimate Alliance. I’m a big fan of comics, and this is the most fun I’ve had with a comic book game since the X-men arcade game.

You control your choice of up to 4 Marvel superheroes in a button masher. The game is pretty easy, but stays interesting. They really put a lot of thought into each superhero. Not only do they have their trademark powers, they can also get special bonuses based on the team you choose, so go with the classic Avengers of Fantastic Four for bonuses. They also included a few different costumes to choose from with each character. I grew up reading Thor, so it was fun being able to choose the old costume.

Apparently I’m still on the first of five acts, so I’ve got a lot of playing to do, but I’m currently going with an Avengers/X-men hybrid group of Captain America, Thor, Wolverine, and Colossus. Now I just have to figure out the Fastball Special….

Last week I had read about a documentary of the Iraq war on Frontline. It’s a two part series that looks into the events that triggered the war in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the decisions made during the conflicts. After finishing it, I can definitely say I’d recommend watching it. It shows several perspectives that you don’t see in the news. A large part of the documentary revolves around showing how the cabinet members in the Bush administration worked (and often didn’t) with each other. The show also goes on to discuss how the evidence for the war was gathered and what mistakes were made gathering it.

For anyone interested in watching, the you can watch both parts streaming here. The segments are usually five to ten minutes in length. Whether you are a supporter of the current administration or oppose it, there is definitely a lot to be learned here.

I think the biggest thing I took from the show was about the benefits of having a bright group of people around you, but more importantly, the strength to lead this group. I definitely got the impression that Bush was actually pretty open about listening to all the viewpoints of his cabinet. The problem he ran into was a small group within the cabinet controlling the information that he received. I’d be interested in reading more about other administrations and how important events were discussed and acted on, so if anyone has any recommendations, I’d love to hear them. All one of you.

I’ve been interested in the political process for most of my life and find myself lucky to live through some interesting times. I consider myself a fiscal conservative, and I also lean a bit to the right socially as well. I don’t remember a time when I’ve supported the democratic candidate for president in my life. Even with the current nominees, I disagree with several important policy issues, such as withdraw from Iraq and universal healthcare.

So why do I find myself backing Sen. Obama?

In truth, I am very pleased with Sen. McCain. I agree with his views about Iraq, and support all the efforts he has made in the past to reduce government spending. If he is elected in November, I think our country is going to move in a positive direction.

However, Obama has done an incredible job with selling his message of change. To me, it’s not necessarily a change in policy. I’ve realized that promises on policy often don’t hold once the elections are over and it’s time to sell it to Congress. Instead, Obama has convinced me that it’s possible to do things different in Washington. There’s always going to be mudslinging, but it’s possible for someone to sidestep that if they have a clear message that resonates with the public.

I’m sure I’ll go into more detail about this down the road, but I’ll leave it at this for now. How important is supporting a candidates policy? Can you disagree with a candidates policy but still believe that they are going to improve the state of the country? I probably would have given a very different answer about this a few years ago.