What Caught My Eye Today

President Obama - I don't know about you, but my first day on the job was nowhere near as busy as President Obama's (has a nice ring to it, don't you think?) After dancing at inaugural balls with first lady Michelle Obama past midnight, Obama entered the Oval Office for the first time as president in early morning. He read a good luck note left behind by President George W. Bush, then began breaking cleanly with his predecessor's policies. What, no hangover? Aides circulated a draft of an executive order that would close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year and halt all war crimes trials in the meantime. Amen to that. He presided over the White House meeting on the economy as the House Appropriations Committee moved toward approval of $358 billion in new spending, part of the economic stimulus package making its way to his desk. That is in addition to the $350 billion that Obama got from the leftover financial industry bailout fund. Obama also had phone conversations with Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders to consolidate the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. He also imposed a pay freeze for about 100 White House aides who earn $100,000 or more. Nice. "Come work for me and we'll change the direction of the country. Oh, by the way. I'm instituting a pay freeze. Now let's get to work." In addition to all that, Obama and the missus started off the day at the National Cathedral for a prayer service and held an open house. By comparison, I spent my first day on the job getting my ID badge and trying to get my computer login to work.

Inauguration - Turns out this little misstep was slightly bigger than first thought. After the flub heard around the world, President Barack Obama has taken the oath of office. Again. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the oath to Obama on Wednesday night at the White House — a rare do-over. The surprise moment came in response to Tuesday's much-noticed stumble, when Roberts got the words of the oath a little off, which prompted Obama to do so, too. It happened when Obama interrupted Roberts midway through the opening line, in which the president repeats his name and solemnly swears. Next in the oath is the phrase " ... that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States." But Roberts rearranged the order of the words, not saying "faithfully" until after "president of the United States." Dear God! Say it ain't so. That appeared to throw Obama off. He stopped abruptly at the word "execute." Oh, the humanity! Recognizing something was off, Roberts then repeated the phrase, putting "faithfully" in the right place but without repeating "execute." But Obama then repeated Roberts' original, incorrect version: "... the office of president of the United States faithfully." Doh! Obama, you fool. I thought you were a professor of Constitutional law before you got into the politics game. What happened, dawg? The Constitution is clear about the exact wording of the oath and as a result, some constitutional experts have said that a do-over probably wasn't necessary but also couldn't hurt. Two other previous presidents have repeated the oath because of similar issues, Calvin Coolidge and Chester A. Arthur. Whew. I'm glad we got that sorted out. Otherwise, this whole epic historical moment might have ended before it got started.

Antarctica - Antarctica, the only place that had oddly seemed immune from climate change, is warming after all, according to a new study. For years, Antarctica was an enigma to scientists who track the effects of global warming. Temperatures on much of the continent at the bottom of the world were staying the same or slightly cooling. Apparently, Antarctica isn't much of an enigma anymore. The new study went back further than earlier work and filled in a massive gap in data with satellite information to find that Antarctica too is getting warmer, like the Earth's other six continents. The research found that since 1957, the annual temperature for the entire continent of Antarctica has warmed by about 1 degree Fahrenheit, but still is 50 degrees below zero. West Antarctica, which is about 20 degrees warmer than the east, has warmed nearly twice as fast. The study has major ramifications for sea level rise. Most major sea level rise projections for the future counted on a cooling — not warming — Antarctica. This will make sea level rise much worse. Correct me if I'm wrong (and I'm certain someone will), but 50 degrees below zero, even 20 below, is a lot colder than 32 degrees--last time I checked. So even if Antarctica is thawing a bit, it's still freezing, right? So where do the rising sea level projections come in?

Sarah Palin - I'm not sure I can recall a former vice presidential nominee ever getting this much press. Then again, this is Sarah Palin we're talking about. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is going on the offensive against news organizations and bloggers she says are perpetuating malicious gossip about her and her children. But political observers say the former Republican vice presidential candidate can't have it both ways: trotting out the children to showcase her family values, then trying to shield them from scrutiny. Palin's criticism also raises questions about her motivations because she has said she is open to a presidential run in 2012. One can only hope. We'll need someone like her to surpass the entertainment value of the 2008 election. The governor said she is speaking out to set the record straight, not because of any political aspirations. Of course you are, Governor. I find it rather hard to sympathize with Palin on this one. I'm reserving my condolences for her poor children. Media scrutiny aside--I'm pretty sure, none of the Palin kids asked for it--you have to feel for them. Their mother is nuts.

Cycling - Here's your daily Lance Armstrong update. In day two of the Tour Down Under, Lance decided to mix it up with a couple of breakaways. While he did not win the stage, he improved his overall position from 120th to 45th. Not bad considering he spent the past three and a half years "drinking beer."