Inauguration Day

I meant to post this last week, but here is a really cool panoramic of the inaugural address. It might take a bit to load, especially if you have a slow internet connection, but the resolution is awesome. You can zoom right in on all kinds of people.

That’s the big wingnut talking point right now. They are going on how Reagan’s inauguration ratings beat out Obama’s 41.8 million to 37.8 million. Of course those numbers are just television views. How about other things like the internet? Well let’s look at the reported number of stream views for the event:

• CNN – 21.3 million
• MSNBC – 14 million
• FOX – 5 million

So internet views alone accounted for 40.3 million viewers. Add that to Obama’s television viewership and you got 78.1 million stream views. That also doesn’t take into account the number of local or international media outlets that streamed it. You can safely say Obama topped 100 million viewers.

Of course those numbers don’t matter to the right. They still live in the 80s, when people had to take off work to view the event, instead of watching it on their computer or setting their DVR and checking it out once they got home (although they could have recorded it on their shiny new BetaMax back in 81).

Here is a satellite image from yesterday

(click for larger view)

We have a vacancy on the Supreme Court

Watching the coverage on MSNBC, as Bush takes his final flight aboard Marine One around the capital, the crowd starts singing “na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye”

To whitehouse.gov

It’s official!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Joe Biden is officially the vice-President of the United States. You’re outta here Cheney!

Also for the tech geeks out there, checkout MSNBC's photosynth of the event. You have to install a Microsoft plugin to view it, but it does work in Firefox also.

Here we go:

HOMELAND SECURITY ISSUES STATEMENT ON POTENTIAL OBAMA THREAT -- 1030 AM ET -- Statement from a Department of Homeland Security spokesman:

"The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security (including the USSS) and the intelligence community are coordinating with other law enforcement authorities to investigate and analyze recently received information about a potential threat on Inauguration Day. This information is of limited specificity and uncertain credibility. Authorities at all levels are vigorously pursuing any lead relating to this threat information. The Transition Team has been briefed and is fully integrated into the process.

There is an unprecedented level of security involving more than 58 federal, state and local agencies for this Inauguration, and related events. As we have previously said, Inauguration events could present an attractive target due to the large public gatherings and participation of many dignitaries. Authorities are constantly reviewing security measures in light of this threat information, as we would with any threat information.

We encourage the public attending Inauguration events to go about their normal plans. As always, we remind the public to be both thoughtful and vigilant about their surroundings, and to notify authorities of any suspicious activity. We also remind the public that they can expect very high levels of security at Inauguration events, and we ask for their patience and cooperation."

Is anyone surprised?

Here is a view from the mall, already looking packed with people to witness history today.

I was going through some old files and found some old Flash games I had made way back in the infancy days of this blog (yes my graphic work sucks - I much prefer working in 3D). Here was the Bush Cannon game I made back in 2005 and had on the blog for several months. Today it seems so appropriate, but I just can't figure out why. (And I would love to find the time to do some more game development in Flash. It's so much fun)

That number is so synonymous with torture when you consider the FOX series that is a hit amongst the right, but today is no exception. Right now we are 24 hours away from the swearing in of Barack Obama and the departure of George W. Bush, who is also synonymous with torture.

And what should we watch for during this last 24 hours of eight years of hell? Politico has a list of 10 pardons to watch for.

The next couple of days will be nothing but festivities for most, but for some it will be work. I’m not talking about right wingers who fear the end of days by the swearing in of Barack Obama as our 44th President, but I am talking about actual members of Obama’s new administration:

{[}]lt;blockquote>

Vans will be poised at the Capitol to take a few top aides of Barack Obama's to their new offices at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. as soon as he is sworn in, transition aides told Politico.

About 20 senior officials have had their paperwork cleared to enter the White House complex on Tuesday. Some will attend a traditional lunch with the new president in the Capitol, then get to work while the inaugural parade is under way.

The quick start on Tuesday is indicative of the months of planning that Obama’s transition team has put into preparing for his opening days in office.

Officials say on Wednesday, which is being referred to as “Day 1,” he is scheduled to meet with his economic team to discuss the latest calibration of his stimulus package, which is likely to be about $900 billion by the time it reaches his desk, probably in mid-February.

So we see more change coming. When Bush took office he decided to enjoy his first eight months at the ranch and golfing, while ignoring pesky little memos like “Bin Laden determined to attack”. Instead we have a President who realizes he is entering the biggest job in the world, and he is prepared to tackle it head on. That is change we can believe in.

Watching the inaugural concert, and enjoying the wide range of superstars performing there, I got wondering which artists would have performed for John McCain. Was there any left that he didn’t use their music without permission?