Real nice, Sara.

Here is why my job is fun sometimes: I was frantically finishing something for the Big Boss so she could deal with it before she got on a plane, when my direct boss (and friend) busts into my office saying I have to stop what I'm doing and look at the email she just sent. It's someone we work with at the Today Show costume contest! In a hilarious costume! Good times.

If you wish to be overwhelmed with the cute, you can alternate between puppies and Zoo Atlanta's baby panda cam: [link] The mother panda just picked him up.

I think I'm going to give up on early voting. It's been a complete zoo here, with waits ranging from 2 to 6 hours. I drove by the nearest site and the line was around the building. There were also a lot of news cameras there, which struck me as a Bad Sign.

It normally takes less than an hour to vote at my precinct during a presidential election, and more than 25% of the county has voted already. Also, this may be irrational, but if I'm going to spend two hours in line, I would rather do it on election day.

eta: Apparently five minutes of holding the baby panda caused the mother to lie down and go to sleep.

I expect the voting line to be brutal at my precinct. There is no early voting and the last presidential election was a pretty long wait despite having the optical scan voting method.

Yeah, I'm expecting to be late to work on Tuesday, even if I DO manage to leave the house at 7:30 to go to the polls.

Well, I just got scheduled for a conference call at 6 am on Tuesday, so at least I'll be up.

We have the hackable touchscreen system made by a major Republican contributor. The touch screens are infinitely easier to use than the punch the holes out with a little stick method, but there is that lingering suspicion that what goes in may not be what goes out.

Me, too!

Beyond that issue, my problem is they are touchscreens. In November. When my fingers get very cold. I stand there, repeatedly poking the screen, attempting to get it to register my touch. Let me fucking vote, cold fingers and all!

I have the same problem with all touchscreens, but usually there is a stylus I can resort to.

The touchscreens here have a little paper record that scrolls along under glass so you can see what it's recording. Better at least.

God damn. People, here's a clue. When you're helping keep people from voting, you're the baddies. You HATE DEMOCRACY.

t /hyperbole

But come on, it's not a good sign! Acting to disenfranchise voters is BAD. Or at least anti-democratic. Isn't it? I'm not crazy here, right -- it's democratic to want people who are eligible to vote to be able to do so, right?

Sorry, my last class put me in a mood. They're convinced Obama's candidacy means racism is over, and they're absolutely sure they're discriminated against as white males. I know they're in high school. I know this is a stage almost every white kid goes through. I know most of them will get it later. (Although I also know that most of them are hearing this from their parents. Still, I think most of them are going to leave home at some point and be exposed to the broader world.) But I still want to smack them.

Also, I have more lesson plans to write, and the panda hates me. It left the screen as soon as I opened the link.

The puppies got a jack o'lantern!

And I had to confess to my minion that I was in here watching puppies because SERIOUSLY.