17 days without a cigarette

Why the hell didn't I do this before? All my problems are disappearing. I feel great.

To Believe

"To believe that Bush won the election, you must also believe: That the exit polls were wrong; that Zogby's 5pm election day calls for Kerry winning Ohio and Florida were wrong (he was exactly right in his 2000 final poll); that Harris' last-minute polling for Kerry was wrong (he was exactly right in his 2000 final poll); that incumbent rule #1 - undecideds break for the challenger - was wrong; That the 50% rule - an incumbent doesn't do better than his final polling - was wrong; That the approval rating rule - an incumbent with less than 50% approval will most likely lose the election - was wrong; that it was just a coincidence that the exit polls were correct where there was a paper trail and incorrect (+5% for Bush) where there was no paper trail; that the surge in new young voters had no positive effect for Kerry; that Kerry did worse than Gore against an opponent who lost the support of scores of Republican newspapers who were for Bush in 2000; that voting machines made by Republicans with no paper trail and with no software publication, which have been proven by thousands of computer scientists to be vulnerable in scores of ways, were not tampered with in this election."

--"TruthIsAll," a poster on Democraticunderground.com

To Whom it May Concern:

At about 1 AM On November 1, I was taking a late-night walk in your neighborhood. I often take such walks; the exercise helps me relax and hence, sleep better. Unfortunately on this night I was severely menaced by your loudly barking dog, who seemed about to attack until he/she/it was (fortunately for me) distracted by a passing bicyclist, whom your dog chased instead until you appeared at your door to let it in.

I spent several uneasy moments on the sidewalk with my arms raised and my heart beating furiously before the arrival of the bicyclist; I don't expect to be able to sleep any time soon, to put it mildly. My heart rate still has not returned to normal. While the word "traumatic" might be pushing it, I found the whole experience quite a bit more than merely unpleasant.

If you can't be bothered to take your dog out for a walk, please find it another home.