Inertia

Well, that Black Friday shopping excursion didn't happen. The Mrs. wasn't feeling well, so she didn't go to work, and while she wasn't so ill that she needed me to look after her, it was just too easy to stay home with her and watch TV. We did venture out in the evening to the grocery store and to get burritos, but that was it.

And yesterday? We cleaned. Both of us tend to be lazy about this, but the apartment needed some serious cleaning, so we buckled down and it's much improved. Later we went out to do a couple of errands, and met up with Sunny and son for dinner at Christopher's. Today, I'm not sure. The Mrs. wants to try to do some work to make up for the day she missed, so maybe I should do what I'd planned on doing Friday. But T service is lousy on Sundays, so that might hinder me.

Holiday Time, Plus A Shopping Tip

What's that? No new posts since last Saturday? Well, yeah, I know. But it's a busy time. Stuff needs to be done, and errands don't do themselves. Kids have birthdays. The Mrs. is participating in a holiday craft market, so she's been cranking out baby quilts for the past several weekends and is dropping them off today. Then this evening we're off to Rhode Island, but only for about 24 hours, because she unfortunately has to work Friday.

I do have Friday off, and it's possible I've sustained a blow to the head because I'm considering going into Boston that day. I seriously dislike crowds and I can't remember the last time I actually ventured out to shop on Black Friday, but I've been wanting to get to Newbury Comics for a while and haven't had the opportunity. I used to be able to pop into the downtown store fairly easily on my way home from work, but since they moved over to Qunicy Market a couple of months ago, it's somewhat less convenient to do that. So I'm thinking I'll head into the city for a few hours on Friday to take the pulse of the shopping public, so to speak, and report back about any especially juicy bargains I find.

For now I can pass along a web shopping tip for one of my new favorite stores, Martin + Osa. Through December 1st, all cashmere sweaters, men's and women's, are $79. That's almost an end-of-season price. The brand is from the same parent company as American Eagle but is positioned as an older sibling. The clothes I've bought from them thus far are of above-average quality, in my fairly knowledgeable opinion, certainly better than what AE sells. The style is more grown-up too, more or less splitting the difference between Banana Republic and J. Crew. And who doesn't love cashmere?

Update, 10 PM: Psst, this deal just got sweeter. I got a little holiday mailer from M+O today, and if you use the code 52216266 on the site, you'll get 30% off your order through December 24th. So that would make a cashmere sweater $56, which is a stupidly good deal.

Not-So-Speedy Delivery

I've been doing a fair bit of shopping lately. Not for the holidays, but for myself, though when I do set out to shop for others, I usually end up buying stuff for myself as well. There are just so many good deals to be found these days, and I've needed some fall and winter clothing.

Over the years I think I've gotten pickier about quality, and I've learned a lot from my attorney friend DC, who has seemingly been aware of this stuff since he was in grade school. So one day a few weeks ago I was roaming around the dusty back halls of eBay and I came across a guy selling new Allen Edmonds belts. I remembered that my friend likes their shoes and belts partly because they are made in the USA (although he says they seem to have slipped a little since the company was sold a couple of years ago). To my surprise, the seller had eight or ten belts in my size. (I'm not a weird size, and that's often a problem--too common.)

The belt I bought ended up costing me $40. That might seem like a lot for a belt, but it's really only slightly more than you would pay for a lesser-quality belt from your local department store, and half of its retail price, plus it happens to match a couple of pairs of my shoes nicely. The seller shipped it on Monday, November 3rd, and that's where the story gets a little more interesting, because it's not really about the belt, but about what happened to it on its way to me.

Not all sellers bother to tell you that they have shipped your item (I always do, so remember that when I start auctioning things), so I've learned to be patient. I have never not received an item I bought on eBay, which I guess makes me pretty lucky. Typically I wait least a week before I send an email to the seller asking about the status of the package. In this case, I waited a little more than a week, until the day after Veterans' Day, since holidays can screw with delivery times.

He responded and gave me the tracking number, and said he had checked the tracking and it said the package had arrived in Boston that day. I went and had a look for myself. What he'd neglected to say was that it was the third time it had arrived in Boston. At this point, I think it would be slightly more entertaining if l just post the whole tracking sequence here:

• Acceptance, November 03, 2008, 3:44 pm, PALM DESERT, CA 92260
• Processed, November 03, 2008, 6:54 pm, SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92403
• Processed, November 05, 2008, 4:31 am, ALBANY, NY 12288
• Arrival at Unit, November 05, 2008, 7:44 am, SCHENEVUS, NY 12155
• Missent, November 05, 2008, 8:51 am
• Processed, November 06, 2008, 12:18 am, SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152
• Processed, November 06, 2008, 4:30 am, BOSTON, MA 02205
• Processed, November 08, 2008, 2:34 am, ALBANY, NY 12288
• Processed, November 08, 2008, 11:45 pm, SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152
• Processed, November 09, 2008, 8:43 pm, BOSTON, MA 02205
• Processed, November 11, 2008, 12:38 am, SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152
• Processed, November 12, 2008, 12:46 am, BOSTON, MA 02205
• Processed, November 13, 2008, 5:06 pm, ALBANY, NY 12288
• Processed, November 16, 2008, 11:18 pm, BOSTON, MA 02205
• Delivered, November 17, 2008, 11:03 am, MEDFORD, MA 02155

So, a priority mail package that typically takes three days to cross the country took two weeks to get to me. That's what happened, but why? If you look at the sequence, you can kind of figure it out. Where it says "arrival at unit," you see that it's some place in New York state that I've never heard of. I went over to Google Maps and found that Schenevus is about 35 miles southwest of Schenectady, on the way to Binghamton. Its zip code is the same as mine, except for the first digit, and that's the key to the whole fiasco. That's why it says "missent" right under that entry. From there, it seems like it would be a relatively simple fix to get the package back on the right track, but it bounces back and forth between Boston and Albany for another week and a half before finally making it to its destination.

In hindsight, everything becomes clear. When I got the package, I expected the seller to have botched my address, but he didn't. It was correct and perfectly legible. But the person who processed the package at the seller's post office entered the wrong zip code when they printed the little postage label with the bar code. Right under the bar code, a little "12155" was plainly visible, and that was the problem. The automated scanners kept putting the package back into the system, and the system kept trying to send it to zip code 12155, which I guess is what it's supposed to do. Eventually a human must have figured it out and intervened, because there was a thick black magic marker slash through the bar code and the zip code on the little label.

After all that, I was expecting that there would be something wrong with the belt, but it was fine. But I guess we're going to have to keep a closer eye on those postal workers.

Ad Alta Voce

A couple of decades ago, I lived in Allston, and then for a while in Jamaica Plain, before crossing the river to Somerville. One thing all these places had in common is that I've always lived on a bus line, and one thing all the various bus lines--the 57, the 39, the 87, 88, and 89--had in common is that I could always count on seeing an assortment of colorful characters. There was a craggy old guy who shared his CIA conspiracy theories, the socially awkward guy who always tried to befriend me, and the older woman who was always sticking her nose into everyone else's business, just to name a few.

Of course, there are plenty of colorful folks on the subways too, but when you ride a bus route regularly, sometimes even at the same time of day each day, you often see the same people over and over. Since I moved a couple of years ago and started riding the 100 bus along the Fellsway daily, I've seen a lot of the same people, but no one has really stood out. Until now, that is.

For the past month or so, I have been noticing a young guy while waiting for the bus at Wellington on the way home at night, and sometimes on the platform waiting for the train in the morning. Really, he would be pretty hard not to notice, because he sings along with his iPod (or whatever is connected to his earphones). And when I say he sings, I mean he SINGS. He is always in full-voice, full-on belt-it-out mode. And he's pretty good.

I don't recognize any of the songs he sings, but I've listened to parts of some of them and I think they are from Broadway shows. Musicals aren't really my thing, which is probably why I don't know them, but they just have that feel to them. I get the sense that he's practicing for a show he's in, or possibly getting ready to audition for one.

Some of the other riders snicker to themselves and each other about the singing guy. It's true that his behavior is a little unusual, but I admire the guy, because he's got talent and because he's confident enough to stand there and sing in front of the other riders. That's how you build confidence, right? If you want to be a performer, you have to have poise and presence, and you get those by getting used to being in front of an audience. So we're kind of like his homework.

Also, he's respectful enough to stop singing when the bus or train arrives. Singing at the bus stop is one thing, but singing on the bus is another thing entirely. Then you're just another weirdo.

Update, 7:55 PM: After some discussion with A Proper Bostonian, I've changed my mind. I now think he's probably just some dude who's gearing up to audition for a reality show.

Quantum Quibbles

So, Quantum of Solace was a decent Bond movie, but didn't quite live up to Casino Royale. For me it came down to a couple of things. First, the action scenes are really overedited, in such a way as to potentially induce dizziness. If you or someone you know is prone to seizures, it might be advisable to avoid seeing this movie. This was clearly an intentional choice by the filmmakers, but at times it's almost impossible to discern what is actually happening, which detracts from the overall moviegoing experience.

Second, the movie was devoid of any bit of humor. I'm not suggesting that it's necessary or desirable to return to the corny, campy, lecherous tone of the Roger Moore era, and I realize that this was primarily a revenge story so it's somewhat excusable, but I missed the element of wit. I'm hoping that next time out, Bond will feel like he can lighten up a bit.

Friday Afternoon

Deadline time looms once again, but on this dreary Friday afternoon my brain has decided it's pretty much done for the week. I may attempt to do a little work over the weekend, something I've done on occasion in the past.

Meanwhile, we're going to see Quantum of Solace tonight. Some of the early reviews don't seem too favorable, but we enjoyed Casino Royale so much that reviews probably don't matter. I'll post my two cents over the weekend.

Since I expect the theater is going to be quite busy, I went to the trouble to purchase tickets ahead of time. This is a silly modern frivolity, but at the same time it's nice to know the seats will be waiting for us.

Checked Off

People still write checks at the grocery store? I saw someone do it yesterday, but I'm still kind of in denial about it. It just seems so... antiquated. Do they still save S&H Green Stamps too? (Go ahead, read the Wikipedia entry, I'll wait...)

I Can't Hear You...

On Friday night we went to check out Roadhouse, the new barbecue place in Brookline. It's on Beacon St. out past Washington Square, in the building where the original Vinny Testa's used to be a long time ago, and it's run by the folks behind The Publick House a short distance up the street.

The wait was between 45 minutes and an hour, which we expected on a Friday. Once we were seated, I got a look at the beer list, which is extensive and well chosen, as I'd expected. We enjoyed our food and beers, but it was too noisy to maintain a conversation. I expect busy places to be loud, but there's loud and there's loud. I hate to sound like a curmudgeon because I know that's what people are going to think, but really, it's nice to be able to hear what the person sitting right next to you is saying.

A couple of weeks ago the Mrs. and I went to Tavern in the Square in the Porter Exchange building, and experienced the same thing, only worse. We really couldn't hear each other across the table. I managed to discern that the waitress was asking if we wanted dessert. I said, "I would like dessert, but we can't stand the noise so we're just going to go." The odd thing about this is that, a couple of weeks prior, I had been to the other Tavern location in Central Square, on a Saturday night, and it wasn't nearly as noisy.

I've always worn earplugs at concerts. I guess I need to start wearing them when we go out to eat too.

The Great Divide

I've intentionally stayed away from the overtly political and ideological, but after last night I want to make just a brief observation. I watched the candidates' speeches, and I noticed that when McCain mentioned Obama, the ignorants in the crowd booed (to his credit, he hushed them), but when Obama mentioned McCain, the audience applauded politely. I think those two little moments encapsulated the ideological divide between the two sides quite accurately. I still think Democrats are frequently too soft and too nice, but I'd rather be on the side of the bigger person.

Noggin'

While grocery shopping last night, I discovered that the egg nog has arrived. If you hate Christmas creep then this news will probably make you unhappy, but if, like me, you're a nog lover, it's great news. I highly recommend the vanilla flavored kind; it tastes pretty much exactly like a vanilla milkshake.

But in some parts of the country, the nog has been available for a while now. Over at Consumerist, there was a post about a grocery store in Missouri that was selling Halloween egg nog. Frankly, I think this is brilliant marketing, but it's also ominous. Before you know it, we're going to end up with one continuous holiday season stretching through the last three months of the year.

Treats

When we lived in Somerville, we never had a single trick-or-treater on Halloween in eleven years. I think it was mostly because we lived in a little dead-end street, even though there were some kids who lived in adjacent buildings. We always bought candy, just in case.

After we moved, it was nice to be part of the neighborhood Halloween experience. Two years ago, one of our upstairs neighbors came down and we pooled our candy. We all sat in the vestibule with the outer door open, so people could see that this was a house they should visit. The dog greeted each group of kids, thinking they were there to see her.

Last year we went to California to visit the Mrs.' sister, so we missed Halloween. (We had a dog-sitter staying here who did give out candy.) So this year we were ready for the festivities again: the Mrs. came home at the beginning of the week with six bags of candy, and she even got a costume for the dog, a queen's cape and crown, highly appropriate for a dog we refer to as "her highness."

The first group of kids arrived, and one of them, perhaps around ten, sized up the Mrs. and said, "You're tiny." (She's 4' 11", which is tiny by adult standards.) Nobody likes a Halloween smartass, but he got candy anyway. It was such a nice night that we decided to sit out on the porch. We kitted out the dog in her costume, though she didn't much care for the crown.

By now we know quite a few of our neighbors, and some of them stopped by. One family is kind of the charter members of London's neighborhood fan club, and as they came around the corner, we could hear the mother saying, "Oh, there's London!" It seemed it was as important for them to say hello to her highness as it was for the kids to get their candy.

At one point all the kids were standing on the porch and London was giving them the sniff-over. One boy, around five, suddenly exclaimed, "She's trying to sniff my penis!" Well yes, I suppose she was. Oops, sorry about that. The grownups had a laugh, the kids got their candy, and they went on their way. See you next year.

For the Dogs' Sake

This week, two of my coworkers asked me my opinion on ballot question #3, which would prohibit dog racing in Massachusetts as of January 2010. People in the office know that we adopted a retired racing greyhound two years ago, so it makes sense that they would want to know what I think.

I plan on voting yes on question #3, which is a vote in favor of the prohibition. It may not constitute animal cruelty, but even for dogs that do well, the life of a racing dog is difficult. Dogs are our domestic companions, and while greyhounds are gifted with exceptional speed, it strikes me as unfair to subject them to the stress and potential injury of track life.

Our dog still reacts when she hears the sound that certain diesel truck engines make; it's clear that it reminds her of her racing days, being transported to and from the track, and she's worried that hearing that sound might mean she has to go back. Then the noise subsides and she remembers her racing days are over, and she puts her head back down on her comfy dog bed and breathes a sigh of contentment.

Even if the question is approved, it won't mean the end of racing everywhere; although our dog was kenneled in Massachusetts, she ran all her races at the Seabrook track, just over the border in New Hampshire. Adoption groups have placed many happily retired dogs with loving families, but these sweet-natured, intelligent animals deserve a life of happiness and love without having to first earn their retirement on a race track.

Leaf Sweeper

This morning while walking the dog, I saw an elderly woman on the opposite sidewalk sweeping leaves off her lawn and sidewalk and out into the street. I suppose that's one way to get rid of them, but besides the lazy and un-neighborly aspect of this behavior, it seems fairly likely that the wind will eventually carry them right onto her property again.

Stopping & Shopping

Stop & Shop built a brand new store right next to the existing one where we do most of our food shopping. It opened a couple of weeks ago, so I've had the chance to have a bit of a look around.

At first the idea of plopping a new store next to an existing one seems a bit puzzling. But renovating an existing building is not always the most practical or cost-effective option. New construction allows the existing store to remain open for business without disruption until the new one is ready, and also invites the use of more environmentally friendly building techniques and materials that may not have existed when the older store was being built.

In the case of this particular store, due to the way it was situated on the property there was no way to expand the building's footprint except to come forward into the parking lot, and that would surely have disrupted the store's normal operation. The adjacent strip mall had a large empty store, the former site of an Ames that closed over a decade ago, so the builders simply knocked down that part of the structure, leaving more than enough space for the new store.

Meanwhile, the new supermarket follows the basic template that Stop & Shop has been using for its recent stores. Bakery, deli, and prepared foods are given prominent and more abundant space just inside the entrance. We don't do a lot of cooking, due mostly to laziness, so this arrangement suits us nicely. The asiles of the rest of the store seem a bit wider, and the general newness of things makes trips to the grocery store somewhat more pleasant. And atmosphere definitely affects sales. It seems subjetive, but I believe that people do connect with stores on an emotional level, at least a little bit.

Supermarket chains survive on very thin margins, and if companies don't invest in keeping their stores up to date, shoppers will go elsewhere. Having lived near an undersized, run-down, and generally quite depressing Star on Broadway in Somerville for over a decade, I can attest to this. I avoided this miserable store for exactly these reasons (unless it was an emergency), and always wondered why the company didn't bother to fix up the place. Then Stop & Shop opened a big, shiny Somerville store a short distance away, and that pretty much eliminated any remaining reasons for people to keep going to the ratty old Star; it closed, supposedly for renovations, a couple of years later, but it turned out to be permanent.

I don't know what's going to happen to the old Stop & Shop building now. I suppose it could be subdivided into smaller spaces (which are easier to lease), or maybe it too is going to be razed to make way for something else. This particular strip mall has had its share of ups and downs over the years, and recently there has been a fair bit of other retail development in the area as well, so with that and the sucky economy, it may be a while before anything happens.

Yeah, That'll Work

Okay, so a little demo and reno seems to have done the trick, which is another way of saying that there were too many values that needed to be changed in the old design template to get it to display any wider (and the trial and error that goes along with checking each one and making sure they don't conflict with each other), so I just picked a different template that is wider to begin with. I'd been thinking it was time to make a few tweaks anyway.

It looks like this template adjusts itself to fit whatever size you have your browser window set to, which is preferable, and what I would have liked the other one to do. Hey Blogger folks: how about some new template designs?

Can I Get a "What What"?

This is old by now, since it was from last weekend, but if any of you didn't catch Amy Poehler's Sarah Palin rap on Saturday Night Live, I decided to post it here, just because it was effin' hilarious. It runs about three minutes; enjoy.* (I think you need Flash for it to work properly.)

*Does not constitute endorsement of a particular candidate

The Catalog of Ridiculous Excess

From time to time I like to check out the gleefully snarky site Jezebel, which considers itself a women's site with an emphasis on pop culture, shopping, and sex, but I suspect a lot of men read it too, simply because it's quite funny. One of Jezebel's features that I really like is called Today in Catalogs, where the writer critiques the products, the accompanying copy, and the presentation of a particular catalog, usually not in a positive way.

So when a Hammacher Schlemmer catalog ("America's Longest Running Catalog") landed in my mailbox, I got the idea to do something similar. If Sharper Image is was the store for people with more money than sense or taste, then HS is its snobby older cousin with a tricked-out BMW M3 and a Bluetooth headset: even more money, still questionable sense and taste, and an attitude of superiority to go along with them.

Twenty years ago I had a boss who was quite enamored of this catalog, and it's quite clear why: buying stuff from it was a way to show off and stroke his ego, and if you need to do those things, then this is the place for you. HS is so full of itself and the specialness of its merchandise that each of its product names begins with "The," as in "The 1950s Countertop Soda Pop Machine" ($160), "The Lighted Billiard Balls" ($250), and "The Indoor Dog Restroom" ($150). There's also "The Aquarium Coffee Table" for $600, "The Personal Towel Warmer" for $100, or "The Stainless Steel Wallet" (huh?) for $90.

Those really sound like must-have items, don't they? Well, it gets better. There are also certain items that are described as "best" or "world's best": These "best" items are supposedly tested and deemed superior by the "Hammacher Schlemmer Institute," which is surely as impartial as it sounds. "The Best Electric Blanket" ($110 to $200, depending on size)--does anyone still use an elcetric blanket? I had one when I was growing up, three-plus decades ago, but I didn't ask for it and I didn't like it; my mom was just stingy with the heat in the winter.

Then there's "The Best Electronic Pants Presser" ($500), which costs ten or twelve times what a decent iron will cost you. Or how about "The World's Best Tabletop Prelit Noble Fir Tree" ($130), which is 40 inches high by 30 inches wide. I get why people buy prelit Christmas trees, but I think something this small is pretty pointless, and if you don't have enough space for a full-size tree, then you probably shouldn't be wasting your money on stuff like this anyway.

HS also seems to have a peculiar obsession with heated clothing. There are heated gloves ($25), socks ($25), insoles ($100), and a carbon-fiber vest ($150), all of which accomplish their tasks via rechargeable battery packs. What, no heated underwear? (Probably next year.)

To be fair, the folks at Hammacher Schlemmer do sell some things that are actually practical and useful, most of which tend to fall in the categories of fitness and personal care (blood pressure monitors, swim goggles, therapeutic heat/cold wraps). But these seem secondary to the rest of the useless, showy, and overpriced crap like the $2000 remote-controlled 1:10 scale Ferrari hydroplane, the various Thomas Kinkade holiday decorations, or the $3000 authentic Pac-Man arcade game.

These things sound just so appropriate for our current financial-crisis times, don't they? But maybe the events of the past month or so haven't affected you and your fortune. Maybe you're one of those people who equates lavishing expensive gifts on friends and family with your own self-worth. If so, Hammacher Schlemmer may have just what you need: "The 6 Foot Working Ferris Wheel Kit" ($500), or better yet, "The 14 MPH Cooler" ($500), which is basically a go-kart with an electric motor built around a cooler with an optional seat/backrest ($30). That probably isn't going to end well, so maybe this is a good gift idea for someone you don't like all that much, huh?

People Behaving Oddly Unit

Today I witnessed this exchange while waiting in line to buy my lunch. The woman in front of me had a bottle of Gatorade, or some other equally garishly colored drink, and a clear plastic take-away container with something vaguely golden brown inside. It was hard to tell, because whatever it was had steamed up the container.

The cashier rang her up, and the woman looked at the total. She said that it was too much. The cashier explained that it was X amount for the drink and Y amount for the french fries. The woman said, "Oh, this isn't french fries, it's chicken. I brought it from home and they cooked it for me in the kitchen."

First of all: huh? You're bringing food from home and having it cooked for you? You couldn't cook it at home and reheat it? Do you know something about the cafeteria food that the rest of us don't? Second, if you insist on such a bizarre lunch regimen, don't you think it would be a small courtesy to explain to the poor, baffled cashier what exactly is going on, so she doesn't have to guess and make a mistake? Wouldn't it make a ton more sense to head that off?

Wife, Work, Dog

Ugh, what a week. Fortunately I have finally shaken off the remains of my cold. I think Friday was the first day I really felt like I was approaching normal again. Of course, right on schedule, the Mrs. seems to have caught it, or a similar bout of blechness that's going around her office, so yesterday was kind of a lost day. She slept most of the day; I was bored and was going to head into town by myself, but then I remembered that the T is doing work on the Orange Line this weekend and is running bus shuttle service instead of train service, and I decided it would end up being too much trouble to even try going anywhere.

Work, well, it's coming along okay. I didn't accomplish quite as much as I'd hoped to, but given the disruptions in schedule over the past week or so, it's not surprising, and I still got a lot done. I was talking with a coworker about why the powers that be scheduled our annual meeting, which took up half a day, during the same week as a holiday, meaning most of the people in the office effectively lost almost two days of work this week. It doesn't seem like very well thought-out planning; they have asked us to provide feedback, so I will suggest having the meeting a week later next year and hope that others do the same.

Then there's the dog. At 2:30 this morning I was awakened by her whining. I went to check on her and it seemed like she was just whining because she was cold, so I covered her and went back to bed, but fifteen minutes later she started whining again, so I knew that meant she needed to go out. I got dressed and took her out to the back yard, where she proceeded to start sniffing things, as if it was just a casual trip outside. Now I do love this dog, but if she's going to wake me up in the middle of the night to be taken out, she'd better focus on doing her thing when she gets out there, you know? So we had a little chat, and she got her priorities straight.

She woke me up again at 6, and I went and covered her again. That was good for an hour; at 7 she started whining again, and I figured since the sun was now up, I might as well walk her. Luckily after we got back I was able to go back to sleep for a couple of hours. This is the third time in the past two weeks that she's awakened us during the night, so something may be up with her digestion. Hopefully it won't require a trip to the vet.

But you know what? A good cup of coffee, a bright, sunny fall day, and an ALCS game 7 can make everything feel better. Go Sox!

A Brief Public Service Announcement

This is a tricky week for me. I'm still not entirely over my stupid cold, I have to go to this sort of retreat thing for work tomorrow that I am very much not looking forward to, and in theory I need to get my monthly assignments done by Friday. Not sure if that's going to happen, but I will try.

Anyway, I wanted to be a bit civic-minded and point out that here in Massachusetts, tomorrow, October 15th, is the deadline to register to vote in the November 4th general election. You can find information on how to register on this page.

I'm one of those people that thinks it's important to vote. I would not presume to suggest who you should vote for, because I don't want this blog to be about politics, and because that's a decision you need to make for yourself. But this has been an extraordinary year in so many ways, and I think that's going to be reflected in a high voter turnout in this election. I'd think people would want to be part of that.