November 6, 2012

Other than a few races that have closed in the United States' Western Pacific territories, and one that has just closed in Puerto Rico, we have a long night of elections ahead of us. Here is a brief time table, telling us what we will know and when. All times are given in Eastern Time, which the reader can then convert into their local time.

6 PM, Tuesday: Indiana and Kentucky close their polls. At least some of them: Indiana and Kentucky are divided into two time zones, and the portions in the Eastern Time Zones close. While this gives us some numbers, they will probably not be too much of a guide to the Presidential race, since neither one of these states is considered to be competitive. However, Indiana's senatorial race is considered to be both competitive, and important, so this is what will probably be worth watching here.

7 PM, Tuesday is when we will really get to see some important results. This is when polls close in Virginia and Florida, two states that will be very competitive, and key to the electoral college. Virginia also has a competitive senatorial race. The early returns in Virginia may be indicative, but since it is a large state and the vote may be hard to count, it will probably not be definitive. This is even more true of Florida, which has the added complication that a part of the state's panhandle is in the Central Time Zone, and will not close for another hour.

7:30 PM, Tuesday: Ohio and North Carolina. Ohio is considered to be most important swing state this cycle, so its returns are eagerly awaited by election watches. While North Carolina is less competitive, it is still important in the night's electoral math. Much like the races in Virginia and Florida, Ohio's first numbers will be indicative, but far from definitive.

8 PM, Tuesday: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Missouri, most of Michigan and the rest of Florida. 8 PM is when returns will really start to pick up. Although not all these states are that competitive or important in the electoral college, Maine, Massachusetts and Missouri all have important senatorial races.

9 PM, Tuesday: Colorado and Wisconsin: Colorado is a very competitive state, and Wisconsin has an important senate race. If things aren't settled on the East Coast, it could be Colorado's returns that tip the election.

10 PM, Tuesday: Nevada, Iowa and Montana all close. Nevada and Iowa, although small, and leaning Democratic, are uncertain enough that the election might not be certain until their results come in. Montana will probably vote Republican in the presidential election, but has the night's last competitive senate race. Washington, Oregon and California also close at 10 or 11, but since they are not competitive, there is little interest in them, other than to see whether Washington and Oregon legalize cannabis.

11 PM, Tuesday: Hawaii finishes its vote.
12 AM, Wednesday: Most of Alaska finishes its vote
1 AM, Wednesday: The Aleutian Islands and American Samoa finish their vote, 23 hours after the Mariana Islands finished theirs. It might be time to go to bed.

As a note, the times when polling places close does not mean a tally will be immediately available. It is usually a half hour to two hours before most or all of the vote is in, although it can be much, much longer. You might want to prepare for a long night.

Dear Anne,

Last Saturday night Paul brought home one of his old ladies from the pub. It might have been the one I saw before, a heavy-thighed blonde woman who had her legs draped over his on the couch in the living room when I passed by going to the kitchen. In the morning, annoyed by their muttering upstairs, I flew out the door and hopped the bus into town in time to catch a piano recital. The Polish pianist played well through Chopin and Debussy, but we didn't care for the modernist "Sonata No. 2 Op. 53" by Alberto Ginastera; the audience clapped too early during a long rest. My friend Lori told me 20 years ago, "When the audience applauds, stop playing." Afterward I browsed the museum's Impressionists gallery, as usual. Did you know Monet and Rodin were friends? They have a painting Monet gave to Rodin, and a sculture Rodin gave to Monet, on display beside each other. Which reminds me of the Vincent Van Gogh museum which has his painting of a vase, and also the vase, on display.

There was an exhibition of Japanese woodcut prints, too. These were inspiring. Their style and techniques used clearly influence modern graphic novels and comic books. I bough the exhibit poster. It would be fantastic to visit Japan some day. I should resume studying the language. Nihongo de benkyoshimasu.

You said things were shaky. I'm sure everything will work out fine. I believe in you.

Yours,

T. B. F.

So. The second election I've ever voted in, and the second I have been allowed to vote in. (I'm two for two!)

I was worried I wouldn't be able to, as nobody told me where I was supposed to go this time around (I think the note got tossed out with the junk mail). I didn't get home until five PM and I thought for sure that the polls must've been closed already because it was so dark outside, but then I looked online and it said that not only were the polls open until eight, but that my polling place was just down the street. I just walked down there and the nice ladies behind the desk checked my ID, checked off my name, and gave me a ballot.

The place wasn't at all crowded. There weren't any booths: this was like the rec center of the mobile home park. Just tall, small tables facing the wall with cardboard shielding to keep us from cheating. I knew the presidential vote didn't matter because- Californian. We're Democratic, we'll always be Democratic (Plus my brother, a Republican, jokingly told me that he had voted earlier that day, so his vote would counter-act my vote). But the state propositions and stuff I could make a difference in and I was proud to be a part of the process. The little I Voted sticker was pretty nifty too, but I gave that to my brother because his polling place (he just walked into one near his school) had run out of stickers before he got there and he really wanted one.

There was a two hundred and fifty point test in my editing class. I knew coming out of the starting gate that I was at least twenty-five points down. I am not confident.

The chicks are outside, now, in their proper coop. All of them have stopped looking like chicks and now look simply like small chickens. They can finally eat whole chicken feed, rather than the crumbled up feed. This will save me time as I was the one who had to crush the whole feed into a more manageable size.

A car spontaneously caught fire ten feet away from me today on the way home. It was at an intersection where the crosswalk is sort of out in the road, with its own little island area. That's why the car was so close. I took pictures, of course, as did all the people gathered on the sidewalk. Nobody was hurt, though the woman to whom the car belonged was reasonably shaken. When the firemen sprayed the car with the hose, one of the tires popped, making everyone jump (including a couple of the firemen).

I have two term papers due. One on the 13th one on the 28th. I have not seriously started either. The first I could write in my sleep, the second I need to start reading the subject material for (it's the The Didache). One of the options for essay topics was "the view of demons in Hellenistic thought". That sounds like something I'd enjoy, but I don't know if I'll be able to come up with ten pages. Better start reading and see, I suppose.

I turned 22 last Thursday. My dad came over and had cake with us. Saturday I had a real "party" with my extended family/family friends. It was the much more pleasant experience out of the two.

I'm tired.