Some Days You Get That Pesky Mouse...

Other days, the frog gets it. Either way, it's all good.Telegraph UK.

Wednesday Wednesday

It's a newborn Wednesday! From Lacey Michelle.

The Onion Sets Its Sights On Oregon

Glad I voted for him. He's our only hope now.

WASHINGTON—In the wake of what is being called the deadliest midterm election in the nation's history, Washington's sole surviving politician, Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon's 4th Congressional District, emerged from the rubble of the Capitol building Wednesday to announce his intention to rebuild the fallen U.S. government.

Tuesday Tits

Willow Tit (Poecile montanus); image from Wikipedia.

Emission Accomplished!

I have proudly completed my patriotic task of adding a little more noise and stench to the god-awful witch's brew of modern American Politics.As it turns out, most of the measures were more familiar to me than I realized, and didn't require much extra work. The toughest call was for mayor, and the reason, in the end, the way I voted as I did was based mostly on the use of key phrases, like "values," by the person I voted against. I have already passed along my voter's guide to one of my young friends, who groaned, "Oh yeah, I need to get that done," when I said I was walking over to the library to drop off my ballot. So hopefully I have encouraged at least one more person to fart today. There were three people ahead of me and one behind as I walked up to the box, so perhaps the farting rate won't be all that bad.

We can only wait now...

Please, no open lights. Flammable gases.

No More Time For "Studying"

Even though we Oregonians can generally cast our ballots any time during the two weeks prior to and including election day, I generally put it off until the end. Most years, I actually do spend a fair amount of time reading up on issues and candidates, and it's not all that uncommon for me to vote- at least during the last century- for non-democratic candidates, or against the party line on contentious issues. This year, it's purely been procrastination. I know of three races that I feel strongly about- Governor, US Senator, and US Representative. I'll be voting Kitzhaber, Wyden, and Schrader, respectively. I'm less than proud to say I am really not familiar with other candidates, or what measures are up. Nevertheless, I'm going to drop out of sight for a little while here and do a whirlwind run through the voter's guide and my ballot, and get this beast out of the way, as a fellow coffee drinker is doing above. Since I took the photo, she has dragged out her laptop, and is doing some follow-up research.

I have had homework assignments I've been excited about- that doesn't mean they're easy, or without frustration, but it does mean that when I'm done I feel as if I've accomplished something of value. I've had others that feel like pure drudge work. This year's voting, for the most part, feels like the latter.

Today's Geography Lesson

For other Americans who've been confused (at least occasionally) by the place names associated with that chunk of terra firma between mainland Europe and the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, here's a handy reference.Via Bits and Pieces