Quick quiz!

What do The Last Dangerous Visions, Chinese Democracy, and my interview for the Dispatch Manager position have in common?

( Yeah. That. )

OK, a little political education.

Daily now, we're being bombarded by the results of various polls conducted nationwide about the election.

Ignore them. Because, as most of you Americans should remember, we don't elect the President, the Electoral College does. We vote for the electors. In all but Maine and Nebraska these votes (one for each member of Congress [both houses]) are winner take all. Say Obama takes California by the slimmest of margins, 51/49. He still gets all 55 votes in the college. So the important thing is how the states are feeling.

Which is where electoral-vote.com comes in. Daily updates on how the states are leaning.



270 are needed to win.

I'll be here all week.

One day the zoo-keeper noticed that the orangutan was reading two books - the Bible and Darwin's The Origin of Species. In surprise he asked the ape, "Why are you reading both those books"? "Well," said the orangutan, "I just wanted to know if I was my brother's keeper or my keeper's brother."

And...

Did you hear about the biologist who had twins? She baptized one and kept the other as a control.

Another I like...

A man, complaining of headaches, entered a hospital for diagnostic tests. A doctor examined the results for a brain scan and told the patient, "I have bad news and good news for you. The bad news is that you have a serious brain disease and will die without treatment. The good news is that this hospital has developed a new procedure for brain transplants and due to a car accident this morning two 'fresh' brains are available: one is from a theologian and the other is from a scientist. The brain of the theologian costs $225,000, while that of the scientist is only $29.95." Puzzled, the patient asked, "Why is the scientist's brain so much cheaper?" The doctor replied, "It's used."

Thank you, try the veal!